Boston Freedom Rally 2008 crowd from stage

The Boston Freedom Rally (often confused with Seattle's Hempfest) is an annual event in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Held on the third Saturday in September, it is traditionally the second largest annual gathering demanding

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

law reform in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, after the

Seattle Hempfest Seattle Hempfest was an annual event in the city of Seattle, Washington, United States, (and the world's largest annual gathering) advocating the legalization of cannabis. It was held every summer for 19 years, from 1991 to 2020, after which per ...

. After achieving the original goal of legalising marijuana recreational ("adult-use" pursuant to the Massachusetts regulatory scheme) use in the state of Massachusetts in 2016, the rally is seen as a celebration of the change to the state's legal policy toward cannabis, a chance to educate the community, and an opportunity to keep marijuana-related issues in the public forum as the state continues to mold its marijuana regulatory and legislative framework. Some attendees also view it as a rally to lessen the restriction on public consumption of marijuana, with public consumption still banned, and violations leading to a US$100 civil fine. It is organized by the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition, Inc. (MassCann / www.masscann.org), the state's longest-standing marijuana advocacy group.

History

4 20pm at NORML 2009 Boston Freedom Rally

The first Freedom Rally was held in 1989 in North Adams. The second was on the dock beside the USS ''Constitution''. The third was held in front of the

Massachusetts State House The Massachusetts State House, also known as the Massachusetts Statehouse or the New State House, is the List of state capitols in the United States, state capitol and seat of government for the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, lo ...

on Beacon Street and the fourth, in 1992, was held on

Boston Common The Boston Common is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of of land bounded by five major Boston streets: Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street, Charl ...

at the Parkman Bandstand. In 1995, the Freedom Rally moved to its current location across the Common on the Carty Parade Field.

References

External links

Official Mass Cann/NORML Website

NORML
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
City of Boston's Boston Common Web page

The Boston Freedom Rally
1989 establishments in Massachusetts 1989 in cannabis Annual events in Boston Cannabis culture Cannabis events in the United States Cannabis in Massachusetts Recurring events established in 1989 {{cannabis-stub