LEGALIZING POT GETS HIGH PRIORITY AT RALLY

Thirty years ago, the late Bob Marley urged the government to "Legalize It."

Yesterday, a pro-pot crowd of more than 40,000 took to the Common to boldly
voice that message, rolling joints and smoking them right under the nose of
Boston police.

"Weed is peace. Straight up," said "Flow," a 24-year-old Cambridge man as he
smoked with his friends. "It's healthy for the mind, body and soul."

"Say yes to marijuana," added "Jazz," a 26-year-old Boston mother.

The 2000 Freedom Rally featured music, food and lots of open marijuana use,
and was mostly peaceful, except for dozens of arrests.

Boston Police spokesman Cliff Connolly said by 6 p.m., police had made about
70 arrests, mostly for possession of marijuana, but some for selling the
drug. One person was arrested with 100 hits of LSD.

Event organizers were angry that police were searching people entering the
park and demanding they open their bags. Some who refused to consent to the
searches, were turned away by police.

"They do it on purpose to intimidate people," said Bill Downing, president
of the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition, which organized the event.

"This is a public park. I'm offended by the searches," added Keith Stroup,
executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based group, NORML (National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws).

Connolly said the searches were "alcohol check points" and were legal
because alcohol is banned in public parks.

"The officers weren't searching for drugs," he said. "As a general rule,
they don't search without suspicion."

The event featured well-known Boston bands Tree, Darkbuster and
Scissorfight, as well as up-and-coming hip-hop acts Mr. Lif and Akrobatik.
The day was also a forum for Libertarian party presidential candidate Harry
Browne and U.S. Senate candidate Carla Howell, who is challenging Ted
Kennedy.

While many dismiss the day as a ploy to allow open pot smoking, Downing says
the police presence ensures that it is not.

"Evidently, by the number of arrests, it's not just a free day to come down
and smoke pot on the lawn," he said.

Members of the MIT Hemp Coalition were among the thousands of college
students on hand voicing their concerns against the so-called drug war.

"We're filling up the jails with a lot of people who aren't real criminals,"
said Paula, a member of the coalition who didn't want her last name used.

Boston Police Capt. Bernie O'Rourke said the department's strategy was "to
arrest as many people as we see breaking the law."

"If someone is smoking, they'll be arrested," he said.

But Stroup took issue with the police strategy - and the nation's continued
criminalization of marijuana - saying laws should be relaxed.

"We're destroying the lives and careers of good, hard-working people in the
United States and it's unfair," he said.

Stroup pointed out that 88 percent of marijuana arrests in the U.S. last
year were for possession. He also noted that seven states have approved
medicinal marijuana use, despite a federal ban.

"Most Americans now realize marijuana is less harmful than alcohol or
tobacco," he said. "We're beginning to make headway. Public attitude is on
our side. Now we have to make it public policy."