On Saturday, September 12, the local chapter of the pot advocacy group National Organization for the Reform of the Marijuana Laws (NORML), known as the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition (MassCann) will host its 25th annual Freedom Rally on Boston Common.
Now before you go around branding participants as stoners, burnouts and deadbeats, consider that this gathering isn’t intended as a blazing session. The idea behind it is to incite discussion on smarter policy regarding both recreational and medicinal marijuana.
According to MassCann/NORML’s website, the Freedom Rally will take place at “High Noon” and call it a night at 8 p.m.
“We will be celebrating 25 years of NORMLizing Massachusetts with two days, two stages and a great line up of bands and speakers for entertainment and education,” adds the organization its website.
On Tuesday, September 9, MassCann posted it’s two-day agenda to its Facebook page, including performances from local bands on two stages, remarks from leading pot champions like Northeastern Institute of Cannabis Executive Director Mickey Martin and High Times writer and editor Danny Danko; and not to mention, of course, the good company of those sitting all around you sprawled out on the green.
This is the second year in a row that MassCann will host the event over the span of two days.
Though it’s not illegal to smoke marijuana in public (in Massachusetts, possession of marijuana is decriminalized up to one ounce), authorities can still issue tickets worth $100 to offenders.
Back in at the end of 2013, smoking was banned in any form on property operated by the City of Boston. Technically, violators of this rule, pushed through by former mayor Tom Menino in the twilight of his 20-year tenure at the helm of Boston, are on the hook for a $250 fine if caught.
Back in April MassCann also held a ‘smoke out’ on Boston Common to celebrate the unofficial THC inhaling holiday 4/20. Never does the group act aggressively towards authorities if approached, and always aims to spread their message with civility, however disobedient it may be in regards to the current laws.
Plan on hitting up the Freedom Rally this weekend? Think it’ll turn Boston Common into a wasteland? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
