OS Interview Mike Cann: The Pulse of Boston Cannabis Reform
3/26/09
My radio and online media work have put me in contact with one of the most dynamic state reform groups in America: MassCann/NORML.
They get about 20,000 people each year for their annual event on the Boston Common and have been spearheading marijuana reform in Massachusetts. The group has seen siginificant success in the last 2 years, passing statewide ballot initiatives and working with elected officials to introduce new cannabis reform legislation.
Blogger Mike Cann just began posting and rss-feeding-into OpenSalon. He keeps his personal blog at MikeCann.net
For those interested in marijuana law reform, Mike, MassCann/NORML and the Boston Freedom Rally are case-studies in success!
Mike you have been involved with the Boston Freedom Rally, tell us about that event.
The Freedom Rally is a free outdoor marijuana reform rally held on the third Saturday of every September on Boston Common. Produced by a volunteer staff, it's the biggest independent music festival in Boston every year. This Sept. 19th, 2009 we'll celebrate our first year of (marijuana) decriminalization in MA and our 20th annual Freedom Rally.
You also book the bands, what kind of talent do you look for?
It really depends and varies. We only have a six hour show and one main stage, so one of the big things is trying to get the biggest acts we can that understand the event and are willing to put up with getting their gear there at 9am for no money and a short set. So that pretty much rules out any major label acts out of say L.A. But yet, we still have thousands of bands that want to play. We aim to always book a diverse and crazy show.
Mostly we book the biggest local acts we can. Many of them play benefits for MassCann/NORML. When you have bands with good songs and draws playing the club shows for you that we get, the Freedom Rally just sort of books itself.
Smoking {cannabis} and music go hand in hand, so it's not really that hard to book a great Freedom Rally. April 11th, Harpers Ferry, Boston, we've got a huge MassCann/NORML event, many of those acts have played the Freedom Rally and have fan bases.
We've had great success over the years doing that. Sam Black Church, Tree, Letters to Cleo, Mr. Lif, Akrobatik, Dresden Dolls, Powerman 5000, Clutch, Waltham, Robby Roadsteamer, Graveyard BBQ, Prospect Hill, have been some of the biggest crowd favorites over the years. We tend to book more mainstream or hard rock than one might expect for a hemp festival but still book the core hemp festival music and hiphop is always a mainstay. With the history of having the hardcore of Tree and Sam Black Church it's just kind of expected that we have something big and bombastic.
Check out these classic acts to see the way back history of the Rally with two of our biggest years. The two bands everybody wants to see back at the Freedom Rally.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98xJD-3O_bc
Sam Black Church Live at Boston Freedom Rally 1994.
Tree "This Land" Live 1995.
The FreedomRally also features a number of speakers, which ones over the years have been highlights for you?
Keith Stroup (NORML) and Rick Cusik (HIGH TIMES) always give great speeches.
Two of the most memorable recently. Danny Danko from HIGH TIMES, a couple of years ago, I'm not even sure if he was supposed to speak that day. Stroup and Cusik got arrested for smoking on the Common, so MassCann/NORML was short on speakers. Danny being from Boston filled in and hit a home run and then it actually happened. "The Red Sox finally won, so we've seen anything is possible and that we were going to get some changes on cannabis soon. Have faith, it will happen, if you continue to believe and ask for it. Did you ever think you'd see the Red Sox win? No. But they did. And they are going to win again and so are we." LISTEN TO AN MP3 of DANNY's SPEECH
{ I was there for this Rally...and interviewed rick and Keith just after their arrest...it is included in the MP3 above from NORML's Daily AudioStash}
Push ahead two years and we have marijuana decrim in MA and people in MA for the first time believe we can actually change the law and get things accomplished. Danny Danko called it.And last year, I booked John Cunningham, Republican candidate for US Congress. He lost to Ed Markey but put his 10 minutes to great use. It wasn't so much a speech but a skit on the drug war, with John Cunningham as the sensible candidate he is, with two younger guys closer to the age of the audience, acting out the two sides of the drug war. Connected with the crowd with truth and humor.
The Freedom Rally is just one event in a massive reform effort in MA. Tell us a bit about MASSCANN?
MassCann/NORML is the local MA chapter of NORML. For the past few years, we've focused on lobbying at the state house while running local decrim and medical ballot questions. We went undefeated with local non binding questions over the last several years and made the case to draw outside funding for our successful state decrim initiative that passed with 65% of the vote in November. MassCann/NORML is composed 100% of local volunteers who are actively working to reform the law on marijuana.
MA has seen a flood of reform issues in the last few years in towns and at the state level. Tell us about decriminalization? Medical Access? How about the recent bills to legalize marijuana altogether?
We won decrim in November, it was a landslide, a political shockwave. The local marijuana reform movement, we expected to win but I don't think many outside of us did. Since then, it's been kind of a double edged sword. The cities/towns are free to amend the initiative with additional fines tacked on for public smoking and many are proposing to do so, a few have raised the fine already. Many think this is ok, but it's not what people voted for. They voted for decrim and a $100 fine. So we've been scrambling trying to get to city hearing after hearing.
At the state house, we are seeing signs that medical marijuana might actually get a vote. For the last couple of years, we've had medical and decrim bills and some have even passed the initial committees but never been allowed to go to a vote after that.
I'm optimistic for this year, every state hearing we have it gets harder for them to do nothing. The loudest against us seem to be shrinking when you have the medical patients we have in this state testifying one after another. Mothers, father, grandmothers, college students, caregivers, professionals. And on the other side? There's not as much resistance anymore. Governor Deval Patrick still is not pledging his support but if it were to reach him, I think not signing it would border on political suicide 80%+ of voters in MA support medical marijuana.
The bad news is that Senator Scott Brown is sponsoring a marijuana ‘re-crim’ bill. But even there it looks good. We have Facebook and the blogs buzzing about it. The Senator is hearing from us and it's having an effect. A protest is planned, you can get more info on that at MikeCann.net
We also have a legalization bill but that doesn't quite have the same support in MA as the medical bill does. I'm not expecting that to even get out of a committee. Looking forward to the hearings.
Especially for Senator Scott Brown's re-crim hearing.
What are most cannabis friendly places in MA?
"Pretty much everywhere. But don't tell anybody I told you that." is the mentality around here. MA according to SAMSHA a few years ago, has some of the highest rates of cannabis use in the world. Naturally you have Cambridge "MIT and Harvard", Boston, Northhampton, UMASS Amherst, but then there's also all of Central and Western MA, Cape Cod, the North Shore, South Shore, basically the whole state, they all smoke. But yet most aren't touting it. For some reason the local politicians always think we are going to tout the new decrim civil fine and smoke in public. Like they forget that MA is parochial and people aren't that open about their pot smoking. We smoke more than most but we don't tell our neighbors about it. Like Keith Stroup says, "it's time to come out of the closet." Tell your neighbors, you're with Keith Stroup and Mike Cann.
Mike your reform efforts are very serious yet you also manage to produce fun awareness events such as the Freedom Rally....are both aspects important for reform and why?
Absolutely. It's what keeps it fun for me and I think many others are the same. I grew up reading High Times. I always loved their activism and hard news editorial reports/interviews and would read the thing front to back, both the serious, hard hitting pieces but also the fluff, sensational, music, entertainment aspect of it. Even the ads and every last bit of copy, the music, the Pot 40.
Somewhere along it's become very obvious to me, like look at Willie Nelson, that's the way we win. You can be serious and respected but have fun, take advantage of your platform, and don't worry if you piss a few people off. Push it with a smile. Willie smoked a joint in the White House? Who does that? Willie does.
He's the outlaw everybody loves. I've seen that same thing twice this year locally. Prospect Hill and myself protesting the Methuen Mayor who was supporting a larger marijuana fine, after a front page news story with us smoking pot in the video, we enter the room full of cops, politicians and senior citizen set town hearing, everybody in the room knows it's us and why we are there. They read about in the paper, watched our youtube videos, and are giggling, winking. But do they like us? How were we greeted? Like the outlaws that everybody loves. The rare exception they can't grasp or handle. That goes a long way. We won concessions because of that. Because the politicians kids and even some of the parents like the music of the people that were asking for no fine.
Same thing with Graveyard BBQ last year at the Rally. So crazy and over the top good, that even a couple of Boston Police officers walked over to the RV not to bust them for smoking pot inside but to get a free cd. That was a first. We've never received anything but more arrests from the Boston Police.
In your activism and Event work what have been some of the highs and lows?
Low was the hurricane a few years back that wiped out MassCann/NORML and almost the Freedom Rally forever. So many times we've been right on the edge of canceling due to lack of money since then. It was tough to make up that loss. Thankfully NORML and local people stepped up to help save it and last years Rally finally put us back to even. Last year we had a nice increase in profits for MassCann/NORML, both with the Rally and the benefit shows.
The best was winning decrim. It was better than the Red Sox winning the World Series.
You have also been a super blogger at MikeCann.net, how do you see the role of blogs for reform groups? How about your personal view and use of blogs?
Blogs are a great tool. The whole internet, myspace, facebook, youtube, the NORML Audiostash (that you launched) {thank you:)} and other podcasts, great chance to get people out. With the events we do now, whether it's a protest or club show, we are seeing new people all the time. One of the reasons MassCann/NORML is doing better raising funds. Because of these tools. If you aren't using them, you have to ask yourself why not?
Whether on myspace, facebook, youtube, blogger, wordpress. Pick one and start there. If you want to get active, blog. Pick up a camera or an audio recorder, too. When I talk to the new NORML university chapters that's the first thing I suggest, start blogging and grab somebody to record your events for youtube.
If Marijuana Prohibition were to end tomorrow what would you being doing?
Growing medical marijuana in MA for myself and some other patients sounds like a great exit plan. And of course, book a big celebration party.
That is a party millions are sure to attend.
Thanks Mike for a great OS interview!
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Madam Potts
Dan Shapiro
Lairderg
Bill Beck
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Beth Mann
Salon.com
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http://myspace.com/darkbuster
We were very fortunate to hook up with Darkbuster when we did. Great band and people.
Gotta say....Robby Roadsteamer's Duck Hunt is still running through my head 2 years later....that dude rocks!
Betchya the Boston Freedom Rally is going to be particularly well attended in 09:)
Thanks again for the interview Mike! New to the blogerviews...gotta get you on the radio again!
Btw: I posted a blog about your interview at www.reefersmoke.com