“Advocacy organizations aren’t for the good years. They’re for this.”
Damn near everyone involved with cannabis in Massachusetts and beyond is outraged by the threat of a repeal. But if anybody has a reason to be extra pissed off, it’s the organizers behind MassCann and its annual Freedom Rally. It’s no exaggeration whatsoever to say that if the organization hadn’t put in the effort over several decades, we wouldn’t have dispensaries around here in the first place.
But with ballot Question 8 encroaching on the freedoms that MassCann and others fought so hard for, advocates aren’t just sitting around steaming. They’re speaking out and congregating, and this week’s Freedom Rally will provide the biggest platform yet for referendum opposition. We spoke with MassCann Treasurer Laura Beohner to get the full picture of what is in store. You can find our questions and her detailed responses below …
MassCann seems to be in a much different place than it has in years past, more organized, and you have been planning this rally for months. What changed, and what’s been going on with the organization generally?
Honestly? We almost didn’t make it. In 2023 this organization was moments away from closing. Not struggling, not in a rough patch. Done.
A group of us came in and turned the board over 100% by early 2024. We did it because we all believed the same thing: the fight for this plant was nowhere near over, and the industry and the community were still going to need somebody in their corner. Legalization passing in 2016 did not mean the work was finished.
So we got to work on the unglamorous stuff. We rebuilt fundraising from scratch, including bringing back the JARS fundraiser with Lili’s Glass in Worcester, which has run every year since 2024 and pays for our trash and cleanup crew. That’s a huge line item for an event this size on the Common. We also did a full rebrand, new logo, new identity, all of it.
Then Question 8 landed. I wish I could say we were surprised. We weren’t. That’s exactly what we rebuilt this organization to handle.
Just regarding the basics of the rally, like the format and things like that, what can we expect for this year?
Friday Sept. 18, 3 to 8pm. Saturday, Sept. 19, 12 to 8pm. Boston Common, free and open to the public like always. We’re expecting at least 5,000 people.
Three stages this year. The main stage is a full professional production setup, our biggest yet. The 21+ stage runs music and speakers all day both days, and it’s packed with CCC licensees. And our third stage is in the Education Village, which has panels both days with nonprofit booths all around it, so you can walk out of a panel and connect with organizations who truly care and are making a difference.
Two brand new additions I’m excited about. We have a huge art walk this year featuring large canvas installations by PNLZ Gallery, which completely transforms how the space feels when you’re walking through it. And we added an Artist Village with dozens of handmade artists. Our Glass Village is back and bigger than ever with about a dozen of the biggest names in glass blowing.
And I say this every time anyone asks: this whole thing is 100% volunteer run. Every person you see working this weekend is there because they care.
The rally has always been known for great indie and local music, with some occasional headliners. What’s on deck for this year, and do you expect the music lineup to bring even more people than usual?
Matisyahu is headlining and the production on his performance is truly leveling up the headlining spot this year. It’s going to be epic.
Under him we’ve got Wax & DJ Hoppa and Onyx, Mendo Dope, Space Kamp, Chase Stebbins, Eighty, and Dutch Rebelle, who Boston knows well. Then Brian Hitchings, Sunset Creatures, Double XP, Radical Joy, Dizzy Dizasta, The Deadheads MA, and a deep roster after that including Phonenixx Marie, Bodega Boys, Kaliloops, Kei, Zaafir, Shellz with a Z, Krista Diamond, Gigi K, Lateb & Kore, Raff Theruler, Mekfly, Fazo, and DJs Slim, Slipwax, and Stenny. Mr. PSA hosts the main stage, Bay Holla has the 21+ stage.
Indie and local music is still the backbone of this thing and always will be. It’s definitely what makes the rally so unique and tailored to the local scene.
Obviously the repeal effort threw everyone for a loop. What have MassCann organizers done in order to best use this year’s rally as a platform to amplify the “No On Question 8” message?
It’s everywhere at this rally, not tacked on at the edges.
The main stage has VOTE NO ON 8 banners on both sides, and our MassCann booth will be a hub for folks to buy shirts and bumper stickers to help support the cause. We have 30-plus speakers across the two days on both stages who will be talking all about how important this issue is to our state.
We also commissioned local Boston artist Brand Rockwell to paint an 8 by 8 foot mural near the main stage inspired by Question 8, sponsored by CannaPlanners and organized by PNLZ Gallery. People will watch it get painted over two days. It’s been a dream of mine to bring live, large painting installations so it’s a dream come true for me personally to make it all come together.
The Education Village panels dig into what repeal actually does. 27,000 jobs. The home grow ban. The tax revenue. The social equity fund. And with the nonprofit booths right there, people can talk to someone in person instead of just reading about it.
Basically, you shouldn’t be able to cross Boston Common that weekend without knowing Question 8 exists and what a yes vote would cost you.
In light of all the prohibitionist efforts underway despite being a decade into Mass legalization, how do you see the importance of MassCann, the rally, and continued vigilance in this day and age?
Now we’re looking at Question 8 here in Massachusetts in November. And I think back to 2016, to how many advocacy and networking groups were around then. Sadly, most of them are no longer here a decade later.
My optimism clouded me back then. I genuinely thought there would always be groups like the Massachusetts Recreational Consumer Council around. I thought there would be bigger and better Elevate Northeast events happening every year. But there’s a reason volunteer run organizations with little funding usually don’t last, and that’s a huge part of why I felt MassCann had to be saved.
Somebody has to be fighting for consumer and patient safety and rights going forward. MassCann is also one of the last ones standing advocating for small businesses and craft growers.
This rally started as a protest when cannabis was illegal here. Thirty seven years later we’re protesting again, because a group with $1.55 million of out of state money decided they could undo what Massachusetts voters chose.
People assumed 2016 settled it. It didn’t. And that vote wasn’t the landslide everybody remembers, it was 53.7 to 46.3. A seven point margin. Legalization has never been as safe as people think.
Advocacy organizations aren’t for the good years. They’re for this.
So come to the Common this weekend. Bring people who don’t follow cannabis news. Then go to KeepCannabisLegal.com, register to vote, and show up November 3rd. We built this. We get to keep it.
