Community | September 21, 2008 | 11 comments

Pot rally has cops fuming

source: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view/2008_09_21_Marijuana_rally_nets_arres...

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Enjoy_Cannabis
Marijuana legalization advocates openly smoked pot at the annual Boston Freedom Rally on Boston Common yesterday, spurring arrests by Boston police.

“It’s one thing to protest the illegality of marijuana, that itself isn’t illegal,” said James Kenneally, BPD spokesman. “People have the right to free expression, but it’s another thing to smoke marijuana, which is an illegal narcotic, during the protest.”

The annual Boston Freedom Rally - described by organizers as “the largest marijuana reform gathering on the East Coast” - drew hundreds of stoners, activists and vendors to the park. They spent the bright, sunny afternoon touting their support for Question 2, which will appear on the ballot in November and would replace criminal penalties for possession of up to 1 ounce of marijuana with a fine of no more than $100.

“It’s a thing where we can unite for a cause to legalize weed, man,” said Howlin’ Jack Boone, 27, of Waltham, lead singer of the rally’s headline band, Graveyard BBQ. “This year we’re hoping for decriminalization, next year it’ll be a celebration.”

The Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition co-sponsored the event, along with the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

“We’re close to winning the first major battle with Question 2, and MassCann won’t stop until it’s legal, regulated and taxed,” said Steven Epstein, co-founder of the coalition.

Yesterday’s rally was “a combination of education and activism,” said Allen St. Pierre, NORML executive director.

Or, as guitarist “Brown Bag” Johnson of Graveyard BBQ put it, “We’re fighting against the man, burning the rope and having a good time.”

The arrests ruined the mellow mood for some participants.

“It’s a real fear. When they arrest you, it’s quick and swift,” said pot enthusiast Rachel Elorrisa, 29, of New Hampshire who admitted to “lighting up” before the rally. “Police are out here in street clothes, and when they arrest, you have to sit in that holding area all day.”
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11 comments // Pot rally has cops fuming

  • astronaughte
    • 0
      astronaughte  

    • I can see it now, tie-dyed clad protester smoking a joint, when a clean cut guy comes and smacks it out of his hand like a gun. Throws him to the ground and hauls him away locks him up with rapists and murders.

      Afterwords the officer and friends have a laugh about it at their local bar before having a few celibritory beers and driving home...

      Who's the criminal?

    • 3 years ago
  • think_free
  • Dmitri_Molotov
  • rainbowryan420
    • 0
      rainbowryan420  

    • well there is a yearly p(r)otest in this town Amherst
      and the cops will let you smoke if your in a certain area and if your discreet

      no hukas or anything but if you have a joint or something then that's fine

    • 3 years ago
  • PoisonTheMonkey
  • AntiFacistCanuck
    • 0
      AntiFacistCanuck  

    • Now that most folks know full well why pot is erroneously termed a narcotic and how it came to be criminalized, they realize the begin to realize the true criminal nature of their own government.

      No wonder the state sees a breakdown in respect for law, the state does not appear to uphold the law anymore!

      This is the interface in the looking glass, which side are you on boy?

    • 3 years ago
  • simplecj
    • 0
      simplecj  

    • Yes, legalize it already!!

      Did you know that the DEA was legally obligated to reschedule cannabis from a schedule 1 to a schedule 2 substance back in 1996 when California passed it's first acceptable medicinal marijuana law!!

      Yet they continue to ignore the fact that there are many states now who have officially recognized the medicinal value of marijuana, which by law should automatically reschedule it to reflect reality. Why do they continue their ignorance???

      Why have they been allowed, for 12 years now, to illegally disrupt the state approved medicinal marijuana outlets, confiscating hundreds of thousands if not into the millions of dollars worth of state-legal merchandise along with irreplaceable patient records... most of the raids happening in California have left the shops completely stripped of everything along with additional damage to the property. They have been threatening the doctors who are simply complying with state law, infringing on the rights of those doctors to render effective care to their patients. They have also been arresting those who run these state run shops ALL because they refuse to recognize the completely constitutional right of the states to accept that there is ample evidence of the safe and effective medicinal use of marijuana.

      Government thugs need to be put in their place!!! We need to legalize it on the federal level!!

    • 3 years ago
  • devo64
    • 0
      devo64  
    • Image

    • While there are people there for the cause of furthering the use of medical marijuana and change the social outlook of weed, most I've seen just show up under the guise of "change" to smoke and buy a new bong.

      Although if you want to go to a cannabis rally without worrying about police bugging you check out the Seattle Hempfest (in 2009). Cops work with the event planners to educated and inform the public.

    • 3 years ago
  • torybart
    • 0
      torybart  

    • Honestly, people should have been smarter.

      This November Massachusetts votes to decriminalize marijuana and the Freedom Rally was the prefect place for the police to generate bad publicity just like this article.

      Good for the cops, bad for our freedom.

    • 3 years ago
  • ihateyou
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