4:20 Celebration to Move from Central Sq. to City Hall for Pumpkin Fest
Filed under: Announcement, Issues, News, Police, Response, Update
In the name of “the children”, Keene’s daily 4:20pm cannabis celebration will move from Central Square across the street to where young, innocent eyes should never be – city hall.
Event promoter Rich Paul, the one man arrested for possession of marijuana since the beginning of the incredibly successful daily celebrations over a month ago, has announced that out of respect for the very small amount of public space available in the park, that the celebration will move to the front of city hall at 3 Washington St. in Keene. The event will return to Central Square as of Sunday.
Paul expects that tomorrow may be the biggest 4:20 celebration ever in Keene. Due to the threatened crackdown from Keene police, it is recommended that those who plan on toking bring joints and plan for a high arrest potential. Peaceful police countermeasures will be in effect. Please bring your recording devices. See you there!
Keene Equinox Reports on Keene’s Daily 4:20 Cannabis Celebrations
Thanks to Brian Anderson at the Keene Equinox (Keene State College’s campus newspaper) for this story:
At 4:19 p.m. a one minute contdown excites a crowd in Central Square at Keene. A man in a shirt reading “4:20 everyday at 4:20” paraphrases Thomas Jefferson and yells, “I hope for the day when people don’t fear their government, but the government fears it’s people.”
As 4:20 p.m. arrives, cars passing by honk and yell out their support.
This has been the typical scene at Central Square for the last two weeks, as protestors have shown up in large numbers to protest the country’s drug laws by smoking marijuana in public.
Keene residents Noah Wood and Rich Paul started the movement after the TEA party in Central Square two weeks ago.
“We thought, what better way to protest drug laws then to smoke pot,” Wood said. “Then we thought, why not come back tomorrow? Then it kind of evolved from there.” Read more
Union Leader Reports on Spreading Cannabis Celebrations
After a week of toking in Manchester, the Union Leader finally takes notice. Thanks to Mark Hayward for the story:
With glass pipes and odd-smelling cigarettes, protesters have taken to Veterans Memorial Park in downtown Manchester, lighting up at 4:20 p.m. daily, the same time as do protesters in downtown Keene.Participants yesterday said they started the effort Sept. 28, a week after the daily smoke-ins began in Keene. They say they light up to protest marijuana laws.
“There’s laws, and they shouldn’t be here. So many have tried to work within the system to change the laws, begging bureaucrats. But it never works,” said Travis Eden, a 24-year-old who lives in Manchester and works in information technology.
Eden said a video of him selling marijuana is posted on the FreeKeene Web site. Read more
Bongs and Pipes and Steamrollers, oh My!
The daily 4:20 cannabis celebrations have stepped up again and now some nice smoking implements are being brought out! I’ve seen all kinds of things being toked – someone even brought out a hookah recently here in Keene! The celebrations have continued with no police hassles for over a week now – hopefully KPD will keep doing the right thing and spend their time investigating real crimes that have victims. Here’s some more footage from Manchester’s 4:20 cannabis celebrations:
Ridley Reports on Cannabis Celebrations
Dave Ridley reports on the continuing Manchester and Keene 4:20 cannabis celebrations:
October issue of the Free Keene Press
Filed under: News, Personal Freedom, Police, The Free Keene Press
Click here for the .pdf with pictures
Keene, the Peaceful Civil-Disobedience Apex
James B Schlessinger Jr.
October 5th, 2009
Words on paper are not stopping activists and locals from living like free people in Keene, New Hampshire. Whether it is marijuana consumption on the Commons or a young woman going topless on Main Street, Keene has become the place to challenge unjust, immoral, and simply foolish laws. This has naturally rankled many state and local civil servants. The Keene City Council voted against sending a resolution to the state house begging for marijuana decriminalization legislation–instead individuals on the council were encouraged to send a personal message. The Keene Police Department has shown both professionalism in its dealings with the 420 events and violence though Police Prosecutor Sergeant Eliezer Rivera.
April 13, 2009, was the day that David Ridley, of Grafton, was to be arraigned for videotaping in the second-floor lobby of the Keene City Hall. Sam Dodson was arrested on that date, while videotaping there; his charges changed several times over the following months.
Anti-Drug Protestors Garner Keene Sentinel Coverage – Get the Full Story Here
This story by the Keene Sentinel’s David P. Greisman is about the small group of mostly high schoolers that showed up to protest the cannabis celebrations on Saturday. I had a lengthy discussion with protestors Ann and Diana to try to understand where they were coming from. They did think that cannabis consumers should be left alone at home, but otherwise support putting them in cages as well as making cigarettes illegal. They think that putting addictive substances in your body is “immoral”, with the exception of caffeine, because… well, they drink it. They actually had cups of coffee out at their protest. Diana even admitted to being addicted to caffeine. I pointed out to them that I would never advocate their caging for such peaceful activities and asked if they believed in god. They answered yes, but that god has nothing to do with this. According to them cannabis is man’s fault because man plants the seeds. (They did not believe it still grows in the wild!) They did not answer my question about where the seeds came from beyond saying that not everything natural is good for you. Finally I asked them what Jesus would do to cannabis consumers. Wouldn’t he use compassion, love, forgiveness, and understanding? That was my final question as I bid them good day. Here’s the Sentinel’s story:
It didn’t matter to them that there were only a handful of them there. It didn’t matter to them that the occasional person who drove by yelled at them or gave them the finger.It only mattered to them that they were there, standing Saturday afternoon in Keene’s Central Square, protesting against marijuana use after more than a week of seeing people protest in favor of the drug in that very same spot.
The gatherings in favor of marijuana legalization or decriminalization had drawn dozens upon dozens.
The gatherings against? Five, at most.
“We wanted to show that not everyone here does drugs or is all about smoking marijuana,” said Diana M. Stepka, a 17-year-old from Chesterfield. Read more
NH Public Radio Reports on Keene’s Daily 4:20 Cannabis Celebrations
Filed under: Audio, Issues, National, News, Personal Freedom, Update
Thanks to NHPR’s Josh Rogers for this report: (Audio Version)
The smokers are protesting marijuana laws and say they’ll smoke in Central Square daily until the law changes. Police say they won’t tolerate wanton law-breaking, but have no plans for a crackdown.
Marijuana may or may not spark creativity, but it has long inspired music. Bessie Smith and Willie Nelson have sung its praises, as has pretty much any reggae and hip hop artist you’d care to name. But none of them were in Keene Wednesday.
“Well in my life I’ve learned that serving’s not the point
Give me a toke off that joint, oh yeah
There’s a 420 fest every day in Keene
People being peaceful and free….”That’s Richard Onley. Read more
Manchies One-Up Keeniacs on Cannabis Disobedience and Sell it in Public, on Video!
The Ridley Report was there to record history in the making as a heroic Manchester liberty activist named Travis sells cannabis openly in a public park, all the while in possession of an “open container”! Have the Keeniacs been out-disobedienced?
WBZ TV in Boston Reports on Keene’s 4:20 Cannabis Celebrations
I have no way to embed the video, but thanks to WBZ’s Dawn Hasbrouck for this video report. Here’s the text version of the story which includes a link to Free Keene!
Advocates for the decriminalization of marijuana gathered in Keene, New Hampshire on Monday in Central Square to try and get their message heard. The crowd has grown from about 20 people to about 100 since the group began gathering on Tuesday. Many of them are smoking pot right out in the open.
They’ve gathered at 4:20 p.m. every day, a significant time in the cannabis culture. “We want to bring this message of freedom to as many people around the world as possible,” said Ian Freeman, who is a blogger on FreeKeene.com.
“We’re actually gonna come out here in public and make it known how we feel and put pressure on the politicians,” says Andrew Carroll, another protester who plans to run for office in 2010.
Local businesses owners have been watching Read more
Supporters of FK
Recent Forum Topics- Episode 48 - Calling the Cops May 20, 2012
- 5,000 "Philosophy of Liberty" and NHJury.com Trifolds Now Available for Pickup! May 19, 2012
- How does bail actually work in NH? May 19, 2012
- Downtown Keene room for rent starting 7/1 for $300 May 17, 2012
- Silver for sale - Am. Eagles and Mercury dimes + other - HOT May 17, 2012
- Keene area events, updated often May 16, 2012
- 8th Annual Emergency Preparedness Conference June 26, 2012 May 16, 2012
- Question regading "Rabbit Hole" terminology May 16, 2012
- Brandon's Intro May 16, 2012
- SL&A Banner Ad May 15, 2012
- Recent Forum Posts
- Episode 48 - Calling the Cops May 20, 2012
- Re: freedom of religion, freedom from religion, freedom as religion May 20, 2012
- Re: freedom of religion, freedom from religion, freedom as religion May 20, 2012
- Re: freedom of religion, freedom from religion, freedom as religion May 20, 2012
- Re: Social Sundays - Now at Local Burger May 20, 2012
- Re: Lakes Region Porcupines adopt highway May 20, 2012
- Re: Lakes Region Porcupines adopt highway May 20, 2012
- Re: How does bail actually work in NH? May 19, 2012
- Re: freedom of religion, freedom from religion, freedom as religion May 19, 2012
- Re: 5,000 "Philosophy of Liberty" and NHJury.com Trifolds Now Available for Pickup! May 19, 2012