THOUSANDS RALLY IN SUPPORT OF LEGALIZING MARIJUANA

BOSTON - Roughly 40,000 people packed the Boston Common on Saturday for the
10th annual rally in support of the legalization of marijuana.

Police said they arrested 72 people at the rally, most on drug possession
charges.

"I've been coming here since I was 14," said Faith Pinkos, 19, of
Providence, R.I. "I don't smoke myself, but I don't find anything wrong with
it. It's not as dangerous as alcohol. It's not hurting anybody."

Activists with the Committee to Reform Marijuana Laws used this year's
gathering to collect signatures for a proposed November 2000 ballot question
that would decriminalize the possession of marijuana.

The organizers need to collect more than 57,100 voter signatures in the fall.

If they collect those signatures and the Legislature doesn't act on their
proposal, they must collect additional signatures in the spring before their
proposal can go on the ballot.

Under the proposed law it would still be a criminal violation to provide
marijuana to a person under 18.

But it would make possession of marijuana a civil offense, punishable by
fines of up of to $200. It would also allow for the personal use of
marijuana for health reasons.

Still, many at the rally felt there should be no legal limitations on marijuana.

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with the responsible use of marijuana,"
said Keith Stroup, executive director of National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). "This is not only about marijuana, it's
really about personal freedom."

Police estimated the crowd at around 40,000.

Boston police spokesman Kevin Jones said the rally was generally peaceful,
although police did have to subdue one man who pulled out a gun while being
booked on drug charges.