Over 50 Police including the Riot Squad busted a few people on April Fools Day 2008, each with small amounts of the herb in bags and cookies that are sold to the daily influx of international travelers all eager to consume Cannabis and, that have helped turn a small village into a thriving Mecca of illegal hemp trafficking, much to the dismay of the over stretched and inadequate local cops. The millions of dollars spent each year trying to 'solve the problem', have helped maintain the high prices of pot in Nimbin feeding the booming economy. Surveillance cameras on the street have only moved the trade out of view. The western car park has no lights and can now hold more than a hundred cars. Since the early 1970's Nimbin has remained the hub of alternative lifestyle seekers that have witnessed their philosophies become accepted worldwide, with the introduction of the principles of Permaculture, local organic food, rainwater, solar power and a passionate concern for the environment and both human physical and mental health. Since those early days the supply and demand for hemp has only ever increased and will continue to because of its' popularity and the therapeutic power of THC, the active constituent of the ancient medicine. Industrial hemp will soon be widely recognized as the most suitable plant for carbon sequestration and as the primary source of complete vegetable protein with an ideal ratio of omega-3 Essential Fatty Acid that is vital for our health and wealth. Until then it's business as usual here in nearly normal Nimbin. The next annual Cannabis Law Reform Rally and Parade is always on the first weekend or May. When the prohibition of the herb has ended, the name will change to festival. In the mean time Nimbin MardiGrass is a political rally and an opportunity to unite for the right to demonstrate against the injustice of the punitive 'war on drugs'.