Packets of marijuana were on open display at Saturday's event, hosted by The Daktory.

Police in Northland are turning a blind eye to marijuana on New Year's Eve as dozens light up in protest against New Zealand's drug laws.

The Daktory Whangarei, a marijuana campaign group, advertised a public event on Saturday at Lower Port Rd for anyone who was interested in coming along.

President Gwenn Gillgren said the group made no secrets about what activities were planned.

SUPPLIED Pictures taken at Saturday's event show a comprehensive marijuana-growing operation.

"We want to be a safe place for people to have a smoke and buy weed that doesn't mean going into dangerous environments," she said.

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"We will be open a couple of days so people can come in and sit around and smoke and buy, and we'll be having other events for sure."

CAMERON BURNELL/STUFF The Daktory founder Dakta Green is a long-time campaigner for marijuana reform in New Zealand.

Pictures from Saturday's event show a comprehensive marijuana-growing operation, with packets of the drug on open display.

A police spokeswoman said police had been in touch with event organisers, but would not be committing any specific resources in response.

"However police will monitor the situation and respond accordingly," she said.

Stuff The Daktory in west Auckland previously sold marijuana to users through a vending machine.

Shannon Parker, president of the NZ Police Conduct Association, said it appeared police were no longer bothering to crack down on marijuana growers and users in Northland.

"I would be surprised if the lack of action today is a resources issue, police have been turning a blind eye to the group's public cannabis use for a year now," she said.

"I just think they don't care, and don't want to act."

Gillgren said police had nothing to worry about from those attending Saturday's event.

"Everyone here is a calm, peaceful citizen," she said.

"We've got no desire to clash with the police, we just think they should stop arresting people for something as stupid as this."

The Daktory, launched by Auckland man Dakta Green, has a long history of thumbing its nose at police.

Green, a marijuana reform campaigner in his 60s, was jailed for eight months in 2011 for possession and supply of cannabis, and for permitting his premises to be used for commission of a crime.

His sentence was increased to 23 months following an appeal from the Solicitor-General.

Four people were arrested in a raid at The Daktory in west Auckland in March 2012, and a further three people were arrested in a second raid in April 2012.

However a District Court judge later ruled that police had unlawfully entered the building in the March 2012 raid, in what amounted to trespass.

A vending machine used to sell packets of marijuana was subsequently returned to Dakta Green.

Public opinion toward marijuana has shifted in recent years, and former trade union boss Helen Kelly openly admitted using the drug for pain relief during her battle with terminal cancer.

A poll from the NZ Drug Foundation in August found almost 65 per cent of New Zealanders were in favour of legalising or decriminalising marijuana.

In December, the Green Party announced a new Drug Law Reform Policy calling for an overhaul of drug laws in what it said was an inevitable push toward legalisation.

Under the proposal, people would be able to legally grow and possess marijuana for personal use.