0917_Greenleaf (1)

Pictured: Robert McGrail Jr., John Hugo, Republican candidate for U.S. Congress,
Rachel Donlan, Patrick Wilson, Mike Crawford amongst a other protesters.
and our new United States Attorney General, Jeff Sessions.
Marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance
under federal law. The Obama Administration essentially
decided to defer to state law. The jury is out on
whether the new Administration will stick to that policy.
In the past, Rogers actually filed his own legalization
proposal, which included wording on taxation
similar to that in the current voter-approved law, which
he endorsed. Nevertheless, the rep has since voted to
overturn that law, and now supports a total overhaul.
So much for his promise of there not being a “complete
rewrite”; the House bill that he pulled for would increase
the recreational tax from 11 to 28 percent, along with a
host of other horrible changes which will ensure that the
black market continues to thrive. Because the Speaker
told him so.
At the same time, Rogers has made some attempt
to better the law. Namely, the rep successfully sponsored
an amendment which aimed to legally protect the parents
of pediatric medical cannabis patients. Yet when it
was time to take a stand against DeLeo, he did the exact
opposite, and took a stand against voters.
J14
One of the signs Protesters made for the event.
THE PROTEST
Oh yeah, the actual demonstration itself. I drive to
Winthrop with Patrick Wilson, an activist and registered
voter in DeLeo’s district. Some of us are trying
to convince him to take on the speaker, and he said
that he’ll consider it.
Jim Pillsbury, an advocate from Framingham,
greeted us upon arrival: “There’s a lot of cops
here waiting for us, Mike.”
The two of us introduced ourselves to the
police, and even shook hands with the assistant
chief, who admitted that he watched us prep on
social media and recognized me. Things progressed
there, with several law enforcement officers even asking
about our posters, and some wanting copies for their
friends and personal collections.
We were joined by a total of about a couple dozen
protesters throughout the two hours we stayed there,
holding signs, taking photos, posting on social media,
and networking. We chatted politely with police and
neighbors, and had some seriously mature conversations.
Notably, nobody lit up.
Pillsbury, who was one of the early supporters of
the protest, is a Framingham Town Committee member
and the former host of a cable access show who has been
fighting for cannabis reform for decades. He’s a bulldog
when it’s needed, but also has a personable, lighter touch
which has been very effective in town campaigning.
“I’ve put a question regarding marijuana on the
ballot three times in Framingham since 2000,” Pillsbury
explained his experience seeing small actions lead to big
outcomes. “Along with authoring the Mass Hemp Farm
bill. With the help of the ACLU, we sued the Town of Ashland
for denying us the use of Stone Park. Years of standing
in front of our post office on tax day, letting taxpayers
know how much marijuana taxes would benefit them.
[We] staged a protest outside a legislator’s home in Milford
years ago when she proposed a bill that would allow
cops who suspect someone is high on marijuana
to bring that person to a hospital and have their
blood drawn to see if they have marijuana in their
system. That bill went nowhere.”
At 64 [years old] with five grandchildren I stand
against anyone who ignores the will of the voter
and will continue to do so as long as I live.”
Which is exactly what we did in Winthrop. It
doesn’t sound nearly as “fringe” as an alleged
representative who votes for a 28 percent cannabis
tax.
A few days later, the same board member of
MassCann who had earlier reservations about
the protest finally came around. Speaking to the
Young Jurks, she said, “Even though MassCann
didn’t officially endorse the protest, you guys
were respectful, you did a great job, I loved that
you reached out to DeLeo’s constituents.”
As negotiations drag on and cannabis reform
continues to be delayed, I fail to see how there’s anything
“stupid,” childish,” or “foolish” about that.