Monday, September 21st, 2009 at 7:49 am | By: Chris Goldstein
Boston: 30,000 smoke pot, celebrate decrim
9/20/2009 - Chris Goldstein
An estimated 30,000 people were crowded onto the Boston Common at the peak moment of the 20th annual Boston Freedom Rally on September 19th 2009.
That moment was 4:20PM ET.
The thousands celebrated freely under a landmark victory for cannabis prohibition reform. In 2008 Massachusetts decriminalized marijuana possession of less than 1/4 ounce by adults with a Ballot Initiative, Proposition 2.That means you can only get a NON-criminal ticket with a $100 fine for a pot violation. The decrim effort was won because of the hard work of the very same folks who organize the rally: MASSCANN/NORML.
A Parks Services officer (who strangely had a thick eastern European accent) agreed that 30,000 seemed a likely estimate of the peak attendance.
A police officer, who did not wish to be named, said the department does not officially release crowd estimates for any event. But Boston Police confirmed that there were 3 arrests for distribution and over 100 citations issued for marijuana possession.
Keith Saunders, MASSCANN’s president, told me that over 50,000 people had probably walked through the grounds over the course of the day and encountered the message of marijuana legalization.
Overall, the police were civil although I saw numerous random searches and heard stories of many more. At past events there have been more than 150 arrests for pot possession… but not on Saturday. Without fear of arrest the crowd was polite and almost everyone I saw was openly enjoying marijuana.
An impressive line-up of bands and speakers appeared on two stages. Styles P, a big time reform supporter showed up and did a surprise set thanks to High Times Magazine. Because of some juggling to accommodate the last minute act, the countdown to 4:20 got squeezed. A sea of people were gathering before the main stage and filling in the large hill.
Steve Bloom of CelebStoner corralled the final 60 seconds holding a clock up on stage and pointing as the hands came together. Looking out from the stage you could see huge clouds of smoke rise up from the crowd. There were dozens of spontaneous circles formed in a surreal organic collage of people. They cheered from across the rolling hills as giant 6-foot long joints were passed around.
Everyone smoked. There really was a quite visible haze over the entire crowd at 4:20. The sweet and fragrant odors of a wide variety of plant strains and hash drifted by, offering this interesting quilt of cannabis.
The crowd was extremely well behaved. There cannot be a finer exhibition of the positive effects of human cannabis smoking than large crowds of people doing it together. Without alcohol available at the event there were no fights, pushing or shoving. But with free cannabis consumption there was dancing, conversation and a genuinely happy atmosphere.
Personally, this was the most wonderful day for prohibition reform I have witnessed. The event itself; all of the people I met for the first time and friends to spend time with made this trip heartening, empowering and just plain fun! The locals really did treat me very well too.
Our country deserves this freedom that Massachusetts already enjoys.
I have seen Victory for Cannabis in Boston. It is sweet and green. It needs to be nationwide.
The first two pics were from my cellphone, this last one is from Derek at PhillyNORML. I’ll have some more blogging about the bands, speakers, backstage and social events from the Boston Freedom Rally tomorrow. Then its off to San Francisco for the NORML conference as I continue my Green September.
Monday, September 21st, 2009 at 7:43 am | By: Chris Goldstein
Included that day was an exclusive interview with NORML’s Founder Keith Stroup and Associate Publisher at High Times Magazine Rick Cusick … just after their arrest for a minor marijuana violation on the Boston Common.
Play 9-17-07 AudioStash MP3
Also included: Speeches from the Freedom Rally Stage from Keith Saunders of MASSCANN/NORML, Danny Danko of High Times, Steve Hagar of High Times, Keith Stroup, Steve Bloom of celebstoner.com and music from Ben Scales.
I took this shot of Keith Saunders of MASSCANN in ‘07
Sunday, September 20th, 2009 at 3:41 pm | By: Radical Russ
"The Death of Dr. Thompson" - To Keith: The Wicked Accuse, The Godly Defend
There’s a certain surreal part of this job. I’m typing this post from Keith Stroup’s place in Virginia, watching the San Diego Chargers play the Baltimore Ravens. Ten feet away he’s catching up on email and I’m snapping pics of his framed pictures on the wall. One is a signed personal pic photo of Hunter S. Thompson firing a shotgun at a photo of Ronald Reagan in cowboy gear. Another is a shot of Keith and Willie from long ago. Another is a drawing of Keith from a piece in the New Yorker. “Sometimes I feel old,” I tell Keith, “especially when you’re around these young people at these rallies. Then I think of the great people and great music I missed by being as young as I am. Growing up in the Eighties sucked.”
Keith had picked me up from the CVS at 7th & Pennsylvania in DC. I’m lugging my two overstuffed carry-ons full of studio gear (which TSA loves to make me completely unpack and repack at every security checkpoint, so ixnay on our secret stoner plan to bring down Babylon by disguising soundboards and wireless keyboards as explosives to bring down the Boston-DC shuttle) and my literally bursting at the seams hanging bag that the baggage handlers have been abusing for the modest fee of $15. And I’m wearing my Packers t-shirt, because it’s game day, and it is horribly old and tattered, and my Concordia University sweats, because I don’t wear anything metal while flying.
Saturday, September 19th, 2009 at 7:49 am | By: Radical Russ
Hey, Stashers, just getting ready to head out to the Boston Freedom Rally. I’m rescheduling NORML SHOW LIVE to fit the time frame; they only run Freedom Rally from Noon to 6pm out here, and then from 9pm on there is a special invite-only party I have to go to that won’t be conducive to a live broadcast.
Our special backstage studio has been set up and the show starts at 3pm ET / Noon Pacific. You’ll hear 4:20 live here from Boston. Guests include Keith Stroup, Keith Saunders, MikeCann, Danny Danko, Chris Goldstein, Dr. Frank Lucido, and anyone else we can round up backstage.
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I’m getting some great suggestions from the Stashers out there – keep ‘em comin’! And if you want to contribute your own two-minute MP3 reports on cannabis news in your area, you could be played on the Stash as our Regional Correspondent (I’m sure I’ll think of a Stashy-sounding title by then.)
Today’s Stash features a conversation with Michael Crawford, from the board of directors for MassCann/NORML and the musical director of the Boston Freedom Rally. Even though Massachusetts passed Question 2, making possession of marijuana a $100 civil fine, city leaders are proposing local ordinances to create additional fines of up to $700. Why can’t elected officials understand that 65% approval for $100 fines is a landslide!
Then Tere Joyce brings us the latest from Southern California. She has an intriguing idea for helping stimulate the American economy, and it’s not weed! Tere brings along medical cannabis dispensary employee Jim Wilson, to tell about the experience the recent Tahoe Raid victims probably felt, because he went through a raid along with Tere a couple of years ago.
It’s my penultimate day of fortyhood! Any excuse to use the word “penultimate”.
Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 at 6:01 pm | By: Radical Russ
Jim Carnell is editor of Pax Centurion and Area A-1 representative of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association. His opinion piece, “Everybody mustn’t get stoned”, appeared in the Boston Herald following the passage of Question 2, decriminalizing personal amounts of marijuana:
Everybody mustn’t get stoned – BostonHerald.com
If beer-swilling idiots park themselves in public view, they can still be arrested for drinking in public while the same cretins smoking doobies are essentially given a free pass.
This “free pass” is a $100 fine and confiscation of your doobies. The “beer-swilling idiots” usually aren’t arrested unless they are being obnoxious, as “beer-swilling idiots” tend to be. If the “cretins” smoking doobies are being obnoxious, they can still be arrested under all sorts of public order laws.
As most citizens know by now, Massachusetts ballot Question 2, concerning the so-called “decriminalization” of marijuana was recently approved by an overwhelming 65 percent.
This binding measure, funded in large part by billionaire George Soros, (!!!) featured television commercials starring retired, ex-Boston police supervisors wearing little gold badges on their lapels who expressed their support of this initiative while portraying themselves as “former street cops.”
Many starry-eyed nitwits wearing rose-colored glasses, who obviously comprise the majority of our electorate, fell hook, line and sinker for this.
It’s nice to see a public servant with such respect for the public he serves
Well, congratulations, general public! You’ve basically approved, whether you realize it or not, the public use of marijuana, openly and in front of you, your children and tourists.
Because we are so fond of encounters with police officers, giving up our weed, and paying $100 fines. Tell me how this mass public use of marijuana begins in Massachusetts when it didn’t happen in the other twelve decriminalized states?
[U]nder this new law, things will change dramatically. First and foremost, nobody in America is required to carry official identification of any kind. Police officers encountering a group of people openly smoking marijuana on Boston Common, for example, could merely ask individuals for their personal information. It is widely anticipated by experienced police officers that Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and John Doe will be receiving the vast majority of these new civil violation notices.
Well, I’m no lawyer, but my scant bit of Googling brought me a Supreme Court case called Hiibel v. Nevada, that I think ruins your argument. According to this 2004 CNN report:
Monday, September 22nd, 2008 at 1:54 pm | By: Radical Russ
NORML Founder Keith Stroup report back from the MassCann Boston Freedom Rally that the NORML Daily Audio Stash won the award for “Podcast of the Year”. (I’ll update this post when there is an announcement link up at masscann.org.) This is a great honor and a huge surprise, especially after just seven months of producing my first podcast ever! I couldn’t have done it without the incredible support of Chris Goldstein, who created this podcast and turned it into such a success, and then handed it over to the luckiest guy in broadcasting (me!)
I also have to thank Allen St. Pierre and Keith Stroup, for believing in this project and trusting me to bring you the “Growing Truth About Cannabis” as the voice of NORML. I will continue to speak up for all the cannabis consumers whose voices are never heard.
Thanks as well to Madeline Martinez, Executive Director of Oregon NORML and member of the NORML Board, who plucked me off the street at the 2005 Million Marijuana March and had me on the Oregon NORML TV show the very next weekend. Without her I’d be just another IT drone in a cubicle farm (not that there’s anything wrong with that) instead of reaching millions of people who share my interest in fighting for freedom and opposing tyranny.
Certainly, the biggest of thanks go to my wife who insisted* that I enter a silly national talk radio contest that I ended up winning, which led to Chris’ trust in my broadcasting ability. It’s eerie how seemingly random events all came together to give me the career of my dreams.
And, of course, thanks to all the fans of the Stash – the Stashers! – who go out of their way to listen to me read news stories, interview activists, play music, and rant against the drug war for 45 or more minutes a day. I do this work in the hopes that someday I can put myself and all of NORML out of a job!
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Loretta Nall from Alabamians for Compassionate Care joins us to discuss the story (see below) of the Alabama GOP pressuring the prison commissioner to halt a prisoner voter registration drive.
RevRayGreen: MASS TWEET THIS -@ChuckGrassley Truth is Chuck you follow Nixon's CSA full of reefer sadness. btw Chuck, Marijuana is not a drug.
RevRayGreen: @ChuckGrassley http://bit.ly/55Ejsi Truth is Chuck you follow Nixon's CSA full of reefer madness. btw Chuck, Marijuana is not a drug.
SneakerPimp: one last thing Puff puff pass to any one who wants it
SneakerPimp: i wanna here about the imminent MiniSpof sounds like time for some
SneakerPimp: im estatic and excited for NSL today.
SneakerPimp: mountain time wake n bake
SneakerPimp: oh yea also wake n bake
SneakerPimp: its central im high as a kite everybody
SneakerPimp: ill grab that WUD
WakeUpDead: @Russ, I dont think that wireless is going to work out for the show, it was choppy and studdered just like last week. Hardline may be the only way. Puff [...]
WakeUpDead: A MINI Spof, Lock up your Weed, in 18 years that is. Really Man congrats! Greatest days of my life when my kids were born, hell yeh, great news [...]
BenJaMin: Late night Stash!!!
SneakerPimp: heres a bong rip for spof
RevRayGreen: errr test over....
RevRayGreen: on hold..
RevRayGreen: @RR I'll try and lob a call to you.....
SneakerPimp: where is the first field of cannabis gonna be?
SneakerPimp: !
Radical Russ: Breaking News: MrSpof's wife's water just broke! A MiniSpof is imminent!
SneakerPimp: oh russ its not my fault that i dont understand choppy word:stoned:
SneakerPimp: @Mrspof congratulations tell us all about it tommrow
Radical Russ: OK, test over. Sorry. Only needed a half hour. Be back tomorrow afternoon.
slash5city: don't forget to watch CCS live on u-stream 8 pm west
thaistik: Local Crime Stoppers notice.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Pot shop burglars sought
Crime Stoppers is looking for information on the suspects who police say burglarized a medical marijuana dispensary and stole cash, drugs [...]
Marijuana-Related Health Costs Minimal Compared To Those Of Alcohol, Tobacco; California Medical Association Says Pot Prohibition Is A "Failed Public Health Policy"; Oregon: State NORML Affiliate Opens First 'Cannabis Café'. […]
American Medical Association Calls For Scientific Review Of Marijuana's Prohibitive Status; Dutch Marijuana Use Lower Than European Average, Study Says […]
"Truth In Trials Act" Reintroduced In Congress; Maine: Voters Approve Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Measure; Colorado: Breckenridge Voters Overwhelmingly Decide To End Pot Penalties. […]
Some of the nation’s top athletes discuss why today's pros are turning to cannabis — and away from alcohol and painkillers — off the field, and question why pro sports leagues are continuing to sanction those who do. Moderator: Steve Bloom, Author, Pot Culture; editor, celebstoner.com * Toby Grear, MMA fighter * Sean Neumann, Documentary Filmm […]
Cannabis Law Reform's Missing Link: Law Enforcement Former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper; LEAP and NORML Advisory Board; Author of Breaking Rank Putting the Mexican Cartels Out of Business Mexican drug cartels now employ over 100,000 soldiers and are responsible for nearly ten thousand deaths per year. Their largest source of income is marijuana. […]
Boston: 30,000 smoke pot, celebrate decrim
Boston: 30,000 smoke pot, celebrate decrim
Steve Bloom of CelebStoner corralled the final 60 seconds holding a clock up on stage and pointing as the hands came together. Looking out from the stage you could see huge clouds of smoke rise up from the crowd. There were dozens of spontaneous circles formed in a surreal organic collage of people. They cheered from across the rolling hills as giant 6-foot long joints were passed around.
sounds like time for some 
mountain time wake n bake 
don't forget to watch CCS live on u-stream 8 pm west 
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