Here in Seattle, we've got Hemp Fest every year to celebrate marijuana culture and promote legalization efforts. In Boston, they've got the Boston Freedom Rally for such a purpose, only this year's event, held last weekend, was a little more eventful than usual:
R. Keith Stroup, 63, founder of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, and Rick Cusick, 53, an editor at High Times magazine, were charged with possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor. “We were smoking a joint behind the booth here,” Stroup said. “I’m sure the police would rather be chasing real criminals. We’re both productive, hard-working taxpayers.”
The Boston Herald article makes it sound as though there are actually folks who believe that some kind of "amnesty" for pot smokers exists at this event; Hemp Fest is not much different, apparently, given the gi-normous clouds of pot smoke that hovers over the entire event (and is captured by camera phones and sent around with a snicker). I'm not sure I believe the police would always rather be chasing real criminals, though; real criminals probably run fast, and like, don't know how to be chill.
