Over the years, the Burning Man Festival has become one of the most popular events and party destinations in the US and has drawn tens of thousands of people in recent years. Unfortunately, this celebration of love and harmony is an enemy to the rigid bureaucracy and control freaks in the state. Last year, as TFTP reported, law enforcement attempted to turn the event into a police state function with random vehicle searches and checkpoints. Now, the Bureau of Land Management says they plan on implementing drug screening checkpoints at all entrances to see if people are showing up with drugs in their systems.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reports, the Bureau of Land Management may require drug screens at every entrance of the festival. Naturally, the event organizers say that this would create massive delays and sheer chaos at the gates. They also bring up the completely unconstitutional nature of such an act.
The idea of drug screening 80,000 attendees is so over the top that even Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen noted that actions are unconstitutional.
“If someone is doing a search or screening, you’re still working under the color of law enforcement. You need to make sure you have probable cause,” Allen said. “BLM has a hard row to plow with that.”
BLM officials said more information on the screenings may become available nearer to the event, Aug. 25 to Sept. 2, according to the Journal.
Over the years, the philosophy of the Burning Man celebration has been to “leave no trace,” meaning leave the land just like it was before 80,000 people descend upon it.