Rep. Frank to attend marijuana legalization rally on Boston Common

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who is not running for reelection this year, is scheduled to speak Sept. 15 on Boston Common at a rally calling for the legalization of marijuana.

"Frank has been a longtime advocate of civil liberties, including but not limited to the right of people to smoke pot in their homes without answering to the law," the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition (MassCann) said in a post announcing Frank's participation in the "Freedom Rally."

According to State House News Service, the rally will promote passage of a ballot question legalizing marijuana for medical use in Massachusetts, and hear from other speakers, including someone from Harvard Medical School.

MassCann says that Question 3 on the ballot will allow for the private growing of marijuana plants for patients, but also include penalties for marijuana use for non-medical reasons.

"In short, being sick will no longer be a crime, though being healthy and feeling a little too good will still be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," MassCann's website says.

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