Thanks to the Union Leader’s Melanie Plenda for the continued coverage:
KEENE – Anti-drug-law advocates were out once again yesterday afternoon, and while some came dressed in costume, masked and with bongos, one left town square in handcuffs.
Jason Hart, 20, of Troy was arrested at a pro-marijuana rally by Troy police on a warrant for receiving stolen goods from an incident about a month ago, said Troy officer David Ellis.
“It had nothing to do with the meeting they were having in the square,” Ellis said. “It was on a totally unrelated warrant.” Although Ellis did say he was tipped off to Hart’s whereabouts from media coverage of the rallies. Hart is being held on $10,000 cash bail.
“He’s really not a bad kid,” Ellis said. “Actually, he autographed my copy of the Union Leader.”
A group of pro-pot advocates, Hart among them, have been gathering daily for the past week, each day at 4:20 p.m. to smoke marijuana in protest of drug laws. The number 420 in some circles means using marijuana.
While some estimated the numbers of yesterday’s gathering at about 130 people, by 5 p.m. the crowd had dwindled to 50 or 60, with people continuing to come and go from the square well into the evening.
As of 5 p.m., no arrests other than Hart’s had been reported as a result of the smoking in the square.
