40,000 ON COMMON RALLY FOR LEGAL MARIJUANA

Lea Cox is convinced that legalizing marijuana would be wrong - despite a
rally on Boston Common yesterday that police say drew an estimated 40,000
spectators, many of whom called for an end to the criminalization of drugs.

''The problem is that these people are being miseducated,'' said Cox, who
began shouting with a group of teenagers bent on proving her wrong. ''I have
nothing against freedom of speech, but these people do not know the facts
about the dangers of illegal drug use. That's very disturbing.''

Cox, who heads a group called Concerned Citizens for Drug Prevention, was
clearly outnumbered yesterday at the 11th annual ''Pot Rally'' - the second
biggest gathering of its kind in the country each year.

With widespread use of marijuana among the ralliers yesterday, police
conceded there was little they could do. ''You can't arrest all of these
people,'' said one officer. ''We all know that they're going to smoke pot;
we just don't want any real trouble.''

Police Captain Bernie O'Rourke said that 70 people were arrested for
possession or distribution of the drug.

''Overall, things have been pretty peaceful,'' he said. ''Our strategy is to
arrest as many people who are breaking the law.''

Last year, a New Hampshire man was wrestled to the ground and arrested after
he tried to pull a gun during the rally. But police said no such incident
marred this year's festivities.

Organizers say the purpose of the yearly rally is to string together a
grass-roots movement aimed at passing laws that would make marijuana legal,
especially in health-related cases.

''The war on drugs is a tragic, flawed failure,'' said Harry Browne, who is
running as the Libertarian candidate for president of the United States.

''It is not the government's business to tell people what they should or
should not put in their bodies. If elected president, I would pardon every
nonviolent federal drug prisoner to make room for the murderers, rapists,
and child molesters who get out of prison early on plea bargains and early
release,'' he said.

Browne's message resonated with Dan Whittenberger, 19, of Weston, who said
he started smoking pot at 13.

''I think it's wrong that the public's tax dollars are being used to
incarcerate drug dealers and users,'' said Whittenberger.

''We could use that money for so many other things. It would make more sense
for the government to grow its own weed and tax it like the way they tax
clothing, beer, and cigarettes,'' he said.

The crowds, a cross-section of the young and middle-aged, wore hemp
bracelets and Bob Marley T-shirts as rock and rap music blasted from the
platform stage.

Marshall Reed, 67, said he's been smoking marijuana for several decades and
isn't about to stop. ''I'm an old man and I still love to smoke a good
blunt,'' he said. ''When will this good old country learn the tragedy of
prohibition. It just doesen't work.''

Keith Stroup, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform
of Marijuana Laws - the parent organization to The Massachusetts Cannabis
Coalition, said he was disturbed by the heavy police presence at the rally.

''There's a feeling out here that the police are angry at the citizens who
want to excercise their First Amendment rights,'' said Stroup. ''Thousands
of tax dollars are being spent to pay for overtime for police officers. It's
a disappointing picture.''

But O'Rourke defended the police presence, especially in light of last
year's gun arrest: ''We're here to make sure that everything remains
peaceful and safe.''