{{Short description|Annual event}} {{refimprove|date=July 2020}}{{About|the event in Boston|Canadian truck driver protest|2022 Canadian truck driver convoy}}thumb|right|300px|Mass Cann/NORML's Freedom Rally 2008
The '''Boston Freedom Rally''' (often confused with Seattle's Hempfest)<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title='Hempfest' is coming. And it's going to be a little different this year. |url=https://www.boston.com/uncategorized/events/2019/09/16/hempfest-is-coming-and-its-going-to-be-a-little-different-this-year/|website=www.boston.com|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-05}}</ref> is an annual event in Boston, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Held on the third Saturday in September, it is traditionally the second largest annual gathering demanding marijuana law reform in the United States, after the Seattle Hempfest.<ref name=":1" /> 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.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Years after Mass. made pot legal, Boston Freedom Rally rolls on |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/09/21/years-after-pot-legalized-mass-boston-freedom-rally-rolls/mrVsLLwznpyPuEJawohc7H/story.html|first=John|last=Hilliard|date=21 September 2019|work=The Boston Globe|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-05}}</ref> It is organized by the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition, Inc. (MassCann / www.masscann.org), the state's longest-standing marijuana advocacy group.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebostoncalendar.com/events/boston-freedom-rally--3|title=Boston Freedom Rally [09/19/20]|website=www.thebostoncalendar.com|access-date=2020-04-05}}</ref>
==History== thumb|300px|right|4:20 PM at Freedom Rally 2009
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 on Beacon Street and the fourth, in 1992, was held on Boston Common at the Parkman Bandstand.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://masscann.org/boston-freedom-rally/history/|title=Boston Freedom Rally History {{!}} MassCann/NORML|date=10 August 2012 |language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-05}}</ref> In 1995, the Freedom Rally moved to its current location across the Common on the Carty Parade Field. ==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Portal|Cannabis|United States}} * [http://www.masscann.org Official Mass Cann/NORML Website] * [http://www.norml.org NORML] National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws * [http://www.cityofboston.gov/FreedomTrail/bostoncommon.asp City of Boston's Boston Common Web page] * [https://masscann.org/the-boston-freedom-rally/ The Boston Freedom Rally]
{{Cannabis events|state=collapsed}} {{Cannabis in Massachusetts}}
Category:1989 establishments in Massachusetts Category:1989 in cannabis Category:Annual events in Boston Category:Cannabis culture Category:Cannabis events in the United States Category:Cannabis in Massachusetts Category:Recurring events established in 1989
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