cannabisnews.com: Thousands Gather for Marijuana Rally 





Thousands Gather for Marijuana Rally 
Posted by CN Staff on September 15, 2002 at 08:17:42 PT
By Jessica Van Sack, Globe Correspondent
Source: Boston Globe 
About 35,000 marijuana legalization advocates, area students, and politicians converged on Boston Common yesterday for the 13th annual Freedom Rally. The six-hour gathering, which some have dubbed ''Hempday,'' featured speakers, live band performances, appearances by Green Party and Libertarian gubernatorial candidates, and more than 25 vendors selling anything and everything pot-related. 
The mostly youthful crowd began trickling in about 1 p.m. By midafternoon, droves of people were planted on the lawn and thousands crammed along paths lined by vending booths. MBTA stations were so clogged that the T added extra trains on the Green and Red lines, said spokesman Joe Pesaturo. Event organizers said they encouraged those attending to abstain from smoking marijuana at the rally, but many appeared to ignore the advice. On stage, band members shouted advice on keeping the drug hidden, and smoke lingered thickly in the air. Boston Police, in uniform as well as under cover, patrolled the mostly peaceful crowd. ''I'm just having some fun, chilling with my buddies,'' said Nick Wilson, 20, a sophomore at Salem State College. ''Not harming anyone.'' Fifty-two people were arrested, most on drug-related charges, said Officer John Boyle, a Boston police spokesman. Boyle said no serious disturbances were reported during the event. Local marijuana advocates were recently dealt a blow: Acting Governor Jane Swift vetoed a budget rider that would have sent some small-scale marijuana offenders to civil court instead of criminal court. The amendment had passed through the Legislature almost unnoticed. Some at the rally said the veto may have boosted attendance. ''The government has no authority under our Constitution to involve itself in drugs,'' said Carla Howell, Libertarian candidate for governor, who delivered a speech calling on the government to abandon the war on drugs. There was a decided political slant to the afternoon, with ardent arguments in favor of legalizing marijuana. Rick Doblin, 48, who wrote his Harvard doctoral dissertation on ''psychedelics and medicinal use of marijuana,'' said that with the threat of terrorism, police resources should not be targeting recreational drug use. ''While we're all thinking about terrorism, we have to ask ourselves why police are focused on small-time marijuana users,'' he said. Some complained that marijuana is harder to come by this year. But most in the crowd seemed determined merely to enjoy the day. Che Arraj, a 32-year-old ''psychedelic artist'' from Lawrence, summed up his stance. ''We're just here to have fun and hear some music,'' he said. ''But it's also about political muscle - if you don't exercise it, you won't have it anymore.'' This story ran on page B2 of the Boston Globe on 9/15/2002. Source: Boston Globe (MA)Author: Jessica Van Sack, Globe CorrespondentPublished: September 15, 2002Copyright: 2002 Globe Newspaper CompanyContact: letter globe.comWebsite: http://www.boston.com/globe/Related Articles & Web Site:MassCannhttp://www.masscann.org/Ballot To Include Pot Question http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13903.shtmlS. Shore Voters To Face Pot Questionhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13900.shtmlMarijuana Questions On Ballothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13760.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by p4me on September 15, 2002 at 09:28:19 PT
We are all safer now
Fifty-two people were arrested, most on drug-related charges, said Officer John Boyle, a Boston police spokesman. Boyle said no serious disturbances were reported during the event.My friend had to pay his lawyer $550 for his possession charge so maybe the lawyers will use this new found money to play golf and keep them from overbilling their customers. They call them clients but then they have different words for everything and use a little Latin. If 52 terrorist conspirators each get a different lawyer what would statistics say to the answer of how many lawyers will use it to buy pot? The cycle continues. I call obsufucation.1,2 
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