CITY MUST ISSUE PERMIT FOR PRO-DOPE RALLY ON COMMON

Boston must issue a permit for a pro-marijuana rally on Boston Common, a
Suffolk County superior court judge ruled yesterday -- one day after the
city nixed the event.

"We won,", said John G. Swomley, lawyer for Massachusetts Cannabis Reform
Coalition. He called the permit denial and many of the restrictions the
city sought "clearly unconstitutional." He said the botton line is that
"Mayor (Thomas M.) Menino doesn't like people smoking dope and doesn't want
the city to be seen as condoning it."

Judge Carol Ball, ruling on an injunction sought by MassCann, said the city
can put restrictions on the permit as part of public safety efforts.

"It's the city's obligation to issue a permit" to avoid trammeling on free
speech rights, Ball said, but added that the parks department "absolutely
has the power" to regulate the rally.

However, she cautioned that some of those restrictions -- which must be
issued along with the permit by Wednesday -- could fail constitutional
tests.

In his Thursday letter that denied the permit, Parks Department chief of
staff Don King told event organizers they must "discourage the illegal
smoking of marijuana during the rally" by publicizing Boston police law
enforcement efforts before and during the rally.

John Dorsey, a spokesman for Menino, would not comment on which
restrictions will be included in the permit.

In the past, tens of thousands of people have attended MassCann's annual
"Freedom Rally," this year scheduled for Oct. 3. Last year an estimated
60,000 people from all over the country attended the rally, with more than
150, including minors, arrested on drug charges.

"We are glad (Suffolk) superior court recognizes that the City of Boston
has a legal responsibility to manage events of this size in a way that will
protect public property and maintain public safety," Menino's legal
department said in a prepared statement.

"We will comply with the judge's order by issuing a permit with
restrictions that will allow us to meet this responsibility to the best of
our ability," the statement continued.

MassCann, a state branch of the National Organization for Reform of
Marijuana Laws, advocates legalization of the drug, but doesn't actively
advocate smoking pot without "medicinal supervision," said Bill Downing,
president of MassCann.

"But not advocating and thinking it's wrong are two very different things,"
he said.

Associated Press contributed to this report