Goodlife Up In Smoke?

Officials decided to call off the medical marijuana-themed Goodlife Festival in Del Mar, Calif., because local residents expressed outrage that patrons might be toking legally in their backyard.

Gillian Flaccus/AP – Blue Ribbon Weed?
Fairgoers look at marijuana plants at the Oregon State Fair during the first day of an exhibit of living pot plants.

The Del Mar Fairgrounds Board of Directors unanimously decided to ax the Sept. 23 event scheduled at the festival grounds after residents and groups complained at a May 30 meeting.

The Goodlife event was organized around legal uses of the green leaf and would have included music, cooking demonstrations and a designated smoking area. The concern, members said, was that it seemed to be more of a celebration of recreational use.

 “This festival is normalizing the use of marijuana and sending the wrong message to the public,” the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Encinitas resident Nancy Logan writing.

The body did leave the door open for the event to return on the books if organizers addressed concerns about recreational use on the festival grounds.

Lawrence Bame of Westward Expos told the Union-Tribune that he would be submitting an alternate plan to the board.

The original Goodlife was reportedly expected around 4,000 attendees with tickets going for $35 a pop.