THOUSANDS GATHER FOR MARIJUANA RALLY

About 35,000 marijuana legalization advocates, area students, and
politicians converged on Boston Common yesterday for the 13th annual Freedom
Rally.

The six-hour gathering, which some have dubbed ''Hempday,'' featured
speakers, live band performances, appearances by Green Party and Libertarian
gubernatorial candidates, and more than 25 vendors selling anything and
everything pot-related.

The mostly youthful crowd began trickling in about 1 p.m. By midafternoon,
droves of people were planted on the lawn and thousands crammed along paths
lined by vending booths.

MBTA stations were so clogged that the T added extra trains on the Green and
Red lines, said spokesman Joe Pesaturo.

Event organizers said they encouraged those attending to abstain from
smoking marijuana at the rally, but many appeared to ignore the advice. On
stage, band members shouted advice on keeping the drug hidden, and smoke
lingered thickly in the air. Boston Police, in uniform as well as under
cover, patrolled the mostly peaceful crowd.

"I'm just having some fun, chilling with my buddies,'' said Nick
Wilson, 20, a sophomore at Salem State College. ''Not harming anyone.''

Fifty-two people were arrested, most on drug-related charges, said Officer
John Boyle, a Boston police spokesman. Boyle said no serious disturbances
were reported during the event.

Local marijuana advocates were recently dealt a blow: Acting Governor Jane
Swift vetoed a budget rider that would have sent some small-scale marijuana
offenders to civil court instead of criminal court. The amendment had passed
through the Legislature almost unnoticed. Some at the rally said the veto
may have boosted attendance.

''The government has no authority under our Constitution to involve itself
in drugs,'' said Carla Howell, Libertarian candidate for governor, who
delivered a speech calling on the government to abandon the war on drugs.

There was a decided political slant to the afternoon, with ardent arguments
in favor of legalizing marijuana. Rick Doblin, 48, who wrote his Harvard
doctoral dissertation on ''psychedelics and medicinal use of marijuana,''
said that with the threat of terrorism, police resources should not be
targeting recreational drug use.

' 'While we're all thinking about terrorism, we have to ask ourselves
why police are focused on small-time marijuana users,'' he said.

Some complained that marijuana is harder to come by this year. But most in
the crowd seemed determined merely to enjoy the day. Che Arraj, a
32-year-old ''psychedelic artist'' from Lawrence, summed up his stance.
''We're just here to have fun and hear some music,'' he said. ''But it's
also about political muscle - if you don't exercise it, you won't have it
anymore.''