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Special Guest Speakers:
Keith
Stroup, Founder of NORML
Rick Cusick, Associate Publisher, High Times
Georgine DiMaria, Miss New
Jersey 2006
Toby "TigerHeart" Grear , MMA Champion
Chris Goldstein, founder of NORML Audio Stash
"Radical" Russ Belville, NORML Audio Stash
Dr. Keith Saunders,
MassCann President
Steve Bloom, celebstoner.com
Bobby Black, High Times
Danny Danko, High Times
John Howell, High Times
Valerie Vande Panne,
High Times
Sarah Newton, Miss High Times 2007
Scott Gacek, Girls4Ganja.com
Mike Cann, mikecann.net
Jimi Devine, SSDP
Stacia Cosner, SSDP
Jeff Morris, SUNORML
Steve Epstein, Mass Cann
Bill Flynn, MassCann
Bill Downing, MassCann
John Madfis, MassCann
Jay Morgan, MassCann
Marci Duda, MassCann
Jon Napoli, The Hempest
Matt Simon, NHCommonSense.org
Paul Saurini, MarijuanaRadio.com
Jonathan Leavitt, Maine
Marijuana Policy Initiative
Terry Franklin, UMass
CRC
About the Speakers:
Dr. Saunders at the NORML conference.
(photo courtesy of Dr. Saunders) |
Dr. Keith Saunders
MassCann/NORML President
Dr. Keith Saunders is MassCann/NORML's President, and a sociologist
whose research focuses on drug policy and social movements.
He has taught "Drugs and Society" and related courses since 1995, at
Northeastern
University and UMass-Lowell.
Dr. Saunders has addressed audiences at the Annual Conference of the
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and at the
Seattle Hempfest, on multiple occasions.
He engages in marijuana law reform because he believes it is the most
radical thing one can do while high, as it negates both the
promises--and eventually the practices--of prohibition.
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Bill Downing, MassCann/NORML Director
(photo courtesy of Mr. Downing)
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Bill
Downing
MassCann/NORML Director
Bill Downing has voluntarily dedicated a large portion of his waking
hours to the moderation of marijuana laws since 1990.He was president of
MassCann/NORML for 13 years and is now a director.
Since 1991 Mr. Downing has been the primary organizer of MassCann/NORML’s
annual Freedom Rally on Boston Common, which has generated donations of
over $200,000. The Freedom Rally was the largest annual marijuana
related rally until the Seattle Hempfest grew larger in the late 1990s.
He has worked with ACLU attorney John Swomley to bring three lawsuits
against the City of Boston
winning immediate injunctive relief and eventually judgments totaling
over $30,000. These suits have helped to assure the City of
Boston
cannot limit public assembly on America’s
first public grounds, where blood was first shed in the fight for
American liberty, because of the politics avowed.
Mr. Downing maintains the MassCann library and, partly as a result,
has detailed knowledge regarding many aspects of the subject. He has
been High Times Activist of the Month twice, once as an individual and
one as a MassCann/NORML board member, and was the very first subscriber
to DRCNet.
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Mike Cann, behind his ever-present camera.
(photo by Scott Gacek)
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Mike Cann
MikeCann.net
MassCann/NORML Director
Mike Cann is a former MA champion athlete and coach competing in high
school, college and with
USA
wrestling. Currently, Mike is a self employed businessman, writer,
blogger, activist, who has served on the Board of MassCann since the
late 1990's.
Mike also books the music for the Freedom Rally and other
events which have raised tens of thousands of dollars for MassCann/NORML
as well as garnered numerous media placements in local newspapers and
radio stations. He's also
been active in creating local marijuana reform videos that he posts on
his marijuana reform news website,
MikeCann.net.
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Danny Danko, speaking at the
2008 Boston Freedom Rally.
(photo by Scott Gacek)
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Danny Danko
Senior Cultivation Editor, High Times Magazine
Danny Danko is a writer, photographer and Senior Cultivation Editor of
High Times Magazine.
He has written numerous articles on the subject of
marijuana gardening both outdoor and indoor. Danko is the writer of
Top Ten Strains of the
Year every year since 2005 and also the creator and founder of the
HIGH TIMES Seed Bank
Hall of Fame. He is also credited with a highly popular
instructional video on how
to roll a joint. As of December 09, Danny takes over the High Times
Q and A column previously penned by Ed Rosenthal and Jorge Cervantes.
Other notable grow articles by Danny Danko include
Jungle in the Bronx,
Seven Habits of Highly
Effective Pot Growers,
The History of Hydroponics,
Organics for Beginners,
Top Ten Strains of 2008
and Cloning for Dollars.
Aside from cultivation content, Danko has also
conducted interviews with Manu Chao, Sizzla, Belly (rapper), Bill Lee
(left-handed pitcher), Method Man, I Wayne, Antibalas, Kid Cudi, Asher
Roth, designer Claw Money and surfer Joel Tudor.
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Scott Gacek, taking a smoke break during
a recent Girls 4 Ganja photoshoot.
(photo courtesy Mr. Gacek)
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Scott Gacek
Girls 4 Ganja photographer
MassCann/NORML Director
Scott Gacek is a Boston
based photographer who serves on
the MassCann Board of Directors, and provides photography of the Boston
Freedom Rally and MassCann benefit concerts and events.
In January 2009, to coincide with decriminalization of marijuana in
Massachusetts, Scott launched
www.girls4ganja.com, a website
designed to raise awareness of marijuana reform in
Massachusetts
through entertainment.
Girls4Ganja features “Real Girls. Real Ganja.” Using his photographic
talent, Scott photographs smokin’ models who are supportive of marijuana
law reform. Although most models hail from the Greater Boston area,
Girls4Ganja.com has featured models from as far as
Seattle
and Hawaii.
If you’d like to catch up with Scott at the Freedom Rally, look for him
lurking onstage hiding behind his camera, or in the crowd surrounded by
the most beautiful Girls 4 Ganja in the crowd.
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Sarah Newton
Miss High Times 2007
I am a 23 yr. old Texas native and marijuana activist, getting
my start with High Times when I was 19 yrs old. and becoming the
original Miss HT as a way to promote not only the movement, but
the importance and power of the female voice in this fight for
justice!
Upon graduating college from TAMUCC this past year, I packed up
my bags and my dog and headed to the west coast to work more
intently in the marijuana movement. I now reside in Los Angeles,
CA where I run a medical marijuana dispensary and continue
fighting for the cause and speaking at city council hearings to
help shape the LA marijuana industry.
I have spoken at rallys and events all over the world, but I
feel so blessed to be attending my first Boston Freedom Rally
this year and celebrating the victory of Massachusetts with the
inspirational people who made it happen! |
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Steve Bloom, author
(photo courtesy Mr. Bloom)
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Steve Bloom
CelebStoner.com
Steve Bloom is the co-author of Pot Culture: The A-Z Guide to Stoner
Language and Life. His next book,
Reefer Movie Madness: The Ultimate Film Guide, will be published in
2010. He’s a former editor of
High Times.
His website,
CelebStoner.com, is one of the
leading sources for marijuana and celebrity news,
and the source for everything you wanted to know about celebrities and
drugs. The sites includes news reports, interviews, reviews, photos and
videos, and features special categories for Top CelebStoners.
CelebStoner Legends, Gallery Pix, Mug Shots, High Tunes, Recent Stoner
Movies, Classic Stoner Movies and Trailers.
Mr. Bloom lives in Brooklyn, NY.
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"Radical" Russ Belville
(photo courtesy Mr. Belville)
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“Radical” Russ Belville
NORML Outreach Coordinator
Host of the NORML Daily Audio Stash
“Radical” Russ Belville is an Idaho native and
currently calls Potland, Oregon (typo intentional) his home. He
began his activism in 2005 with Oregon NORML, the largest NORML
chapter in the country, and is now the outreach coordinator for
National NORML.
“Radical” Russ covers all the news in the
cannabis community on NORML’s blogs and as the voice of NORML on
the Daily Audio Stash
podcast, winner of the 2008 MassCann Podcast of the Year, and as
host of the new NORML SHOW LIVE weekly internet talk radio show.
It’s his first time at the Freedom Rally, so give it up for
“Radical” Russ Belville!
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Bobby Black,
High Times Magazine Senior Editor
(photo courtesy Mr. Black)
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Bobby Black
Senior Editor / Columnist, HIGH TIMES Magazine
In his 15-year career at HIGH TIMES, Senior Editor Bobby Black
has written over 100 articles and starred in nearly 50 podcasts.
For the past five years, his monthly column Almost Infamous has
been a source of humor, entertainment and controversy in the
world of weed.
As HT's resident rocker, Black has interviewed and/or partied
with performers like Black Sabbath, Johnny Winter, Blue Cheer,
System of a Down, Queens of the Stone Age, Slayer, Pantera, and
Jerry Cantrell, as well as stoner celebrities such as Tommy
Chong, Snoop Dogg, Kal Penn and John Cho (Harold & Kumar), Jason
Mewes, Jim Breuer, Adrianne Curry, Rick Steves, Ron Jeremy and
Tera Patrick.
Black is also the producer / director of the HT Doobie Awards at
SXSW in Austin and the creator of the Miss HIGH TIMES Contest /
Pageant. He's hosted a weekly rock show on Sirius Satellite
radio called Contact High, appeared on Howard Stern, and even
run for president. He's smoked the world's largest joint,
attended 13 Cannabis Cups, and is a regular guest on Marijuana
Radio. This will be Bobby's fourth time attending the Freedom
Rally.
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Stacia Cosner, SSDP Outreach Director
(photo courtesy Ms. Cosner)
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Stacia Cosner
Outreach Director, Students for Sensible Drug Policy
As an undergraduate student at the University of Maryland,
College Park, Stacia led their campus
SSDP chapter for
two years. She was the Hight Times Magaizine "Freedom Fighter of
the Month in June 2007 and was dubbed "Pot Policy Princess" by
the University's newspaper just before her graduation this past
May. In June of 2009, Stacia was hired by
Students for Sensible
Drug Policy and currently works from their Washington, DC
office as an Outreach Director for the Northeast and Southeast
Regions.
This will be Stacia's first visit to the Boston Freedom Rally,
so if you see her, be sure to say "high". |
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Toby
"TigerHeart" Grear
MMA Champion Fighter
Tobey "TigerHeart" Grear is a two-time Total Fighting
Alliance World Lightleight Champion in Mixed Martial Arts. Born
in Ohio, he graduated in 2003 from the University of Dayton. He
then moved to Hollywood to persue his Mixed Martial Arts
carreer.
Toby has spoken at the NORML National Conference on a panel
about medical marijuana in sports. He is currently debating the
California State Athletic Commission for the right to use
medical marijuana and still compete in MMA events. |
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Georgine DiMaria, Miss New Jersey 2006, is introduced at the
2007 Miss America Pagent.
(photo by
Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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Georgine
DiMaria
Miss New Jersey, 2006
Georgine DiMaria was crowned Miss New
Jersey 2006. Since then, she has been a health care advocate in
her state and community. Her new platform, which she spoke
pubically about for the first time on 4/20/09, is medical
marijuana
Georgine spoke at the Philly NORML and
NORML-NJ International Cannabis Awareness Day on April 20, 2009,
where she urged New Jersey residents and elected officials to
support medical marijuana reform laws.
A chronic asthma sufferer, she has been a
spokesperson for the American Lung Association and recently, a
supporter of safe medical marijuana access.
She is currently an active member of the New Jersey NORML
Board of Directors, and is making her first appearance at the
Boston Freedom Rally.
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Chris Goldstein
(photo courtesy Mr. Goldstein)
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Chris Goldstein
NORML Audio Stash Founder
Chris Goldstein has been working on marijuana reform for over a
decade. As a radio host, Chris has covered reform efforts around
the country on his program
Active Voice Radio.
He's interviewed everyone from Ron Paul and Barney Frank to
Willie Nelson and Tommy Chong.
Chris founded NORML's Daily Audio Stash Podcast, and produced it
for 3 years, creating over 650 audio programs for NORML.
Currently, he is working on the medical marijuana bills in both
Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He serves as media coordinator of
PhillyNORML and executive director of
NORML-NJ: Growing Reform in
the Garden State. |
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 Jimi Divine speaking at
a MassCann event.
(photo by Scott Gacek)
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Jimi Divine
SSDP, National Board of Directors
MassCann/NORML Board of DIrectors
Jimi Devine spent four years on the Franklin Pierce University
Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) leadership, one of High
Times' top ten schools for marijuana activism. He currently
serves on SSDP's national Board of Directors, as well as on the
MassCann/NORML Board of Directors.
In the summer of 2008, Jimi was an intern with
StopTheDrugWar.org and the Drug Policy Alliance. During his
summer at the Drug Policy Alliance, he was published in the
Chronicle of Higher Education on the effects of a Washington
state Supreme Court decision on police dorm patrol policies and
also in The Hill regarding a former Drug Free America Foundation
executive's decision to lobby in support of medical marijuana.
Most recently, Jimi was published in the Boston Globe regarding
the negative effects re-criminalizing marijuana would have on
students receiving financial aid in Massachusetts.
Jimi graduated from Franklin Pierce in 2009 with degrees in
Journalism and Media Studies.
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Valerie Vande Panne
High Times Magazine
Valerie Vande Panne is a writer and former editor of High Times
magazine. She has worked cultivating numerous drug policy reform
organizations, including Students for Sensible Drug Policy and
Flex Your Rights.
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John Howell
High Times Magazine
John Howell is Editorial Coordinator of High Times. He was
Editor-In-Chief of High Times magazine from 1984 to 1987. John
was also the Publisher and Editor of Hemp Times and Managing
Director of Planet Hemp from 1995 to 2000. |
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Jeff Morris
Suffolk University NORML
Jeff Morris is the president and co-founder of Suffolk
University's first NORML chapter. He is currently a junior at
Suffolk, and is majoring in history with a minor in education.
Suffolk University NORML or SUNORML was founded in September of
2008. Since the founding of SUNORML, the member base has grown
close to 800 students, and various events have been held on
campus revolving around marijuana reform in MA. Watch out for
SUNORML, for this up and coming group continues to grow and gain
more and more support from the student body everyday. |
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John Madfis
MassCann
John Madfis is a retired business executive that has devoted his
life to fighting for personal liberty and peace with much
emphasis on ending the insane war on drugs which has been a
disaster for the US, millions of its citizens, and much of the
world. He joined NORML in the 1960s and hopes to see the
progress continue on the road to legalization of marijuana. |
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Jonathan Leavit, onstage with the
Stoned Mountain Boyz.
(photo courtesy Mr. Leavitt)
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Jonathan Leavitt
Executive Director, Maine Marijuana Policy Initiative
Jonathan Leavitt (Executive Director of
Maine Marijuana Policy Initiative) has been doing grassroots
organizing for twenty years. He served as a Field Manager for Clean
Water Action in the late eighties, Founded the Lawrence Grassroots
Initiative, and served as its Executive Director for seven years,
founded the Massachusetts Green Party in 1996 and served as its first
staff person, ran the Jill Stein for Governor campaign and was the
Massachusetts Green Party's first ever Clean Elections candidate.
Jonathan also oversaw the development and staffing for the historic
Boston Social Forum in 2004, co-founded Massachusetts Global Action and
was the coordinator for the "Our Communities, Our Water" project.
Jonathan is currently the director of the
Maine Marijuana Policy
Initiative and Maine Citizens for Patients Rights and also spends
his time playing music with the Stoned Mountain Boyz.
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Steve Epstein, speaking at the
2008 Boston Freedom Rally
(photo by Scott Gacek)
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Steve Epstein
MassCann/NORML Director
Instrumental in the founding of Mass Cann, Steve is
probably the only person on the planet who has attended all prior
rallies. Twice named "High Times" Freedom Fighter of the Month. In 2005
he was the recipient of NORML's Outstanding Citizen Activism Award for
the advance of marijuana law reform, social justice and equity under the
law. In 2007, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award by Mass Cann.
Without his perseverance and generosity it is doubtful Question 2 would
have happened.
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Matt Simon
Executive Director, New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense
Marijuana Policy
As executive director of NH Common Sense, Matt Simon has lobbied
the New Hampshire legislature to pass both medical marijuana and
decrim legislation. This year he helped convince the New
Hampshire House and Senate to pass a medical marijuana bill, but
it was vetoed by New Hampshire Governor John Lynch. Obviously,
some politicians are still clueless about marijuana, but Matt's
successes in New Hampshire demonstrate that the tide is
definitely turning towards freedom in the "Live free or die"
state. |
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Terry Franklin
UMass Cannabis Reform Coaliation
Terry Franklin, an activist from Amherst, has worked for years
with the UMass Cannabis Reform Coalition on every event and
campaign in Western Massachusetts, including the annual
Extravaganja fesitval, and the passage of the 2000 local
legalization referendum -- the first, in recent times, of the
many such successful referenda in Massachusetts.
Mr. Franklin is active in Libertarian circles. In local
politics, he is a member of Town Meeting, and has run for State
Representative three times. Last year, he was the campaign
charman for Keith McCormic's State Senate run.
Whenever town official's hostility towards the legalization
movement spills over into violations of the First or Fourth
Amendment, he has shown he can be a real pain in the ass to
everyone from mayors to police chiefs.
In his spare time, Terry is a science fiction writer. |
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