Councilors on pot rally: It's not the pot, it's the mess the pot smokers leave behind; well, OK, and maybe the smoking part

Read the actual remarks of City Councilors... Public Funded Stenographic Record can be requested via https://www.boston.gov/departments/city-council/andrea-campbell the more complete, more accurate Document than flawed lacking inaccurate transcript of video captions for hard of hearing folks.

Feedback, comment, suggestions, questions on Councilors' remarks can be sent via https://www.boston.gov/departments/city-council

Which community?

I mean, do you think most attendees are also Boston residents? I have a problem with the Hemp Fest in the same way I thought the Olympics were a bad idea - it degrades a public space for the benefit of non-residents with an event with dubious benefits to the local community.

Which will raise the question why individual consumers are still unable to purchase something well beyond the "implementation date" that was affirmatively voted for by a majority?

Can't entirely say that's entirely fair. Your point about Saint Patrick's Day is well taken, as both events tend to attract young people who enjoy partaking in controlled substances, sometimes to excess, and as such, don't give much regard to respecting their surroundings.

As someone who walks between Park Street station and an office in Back Bay everyday through the Common for several years, (and who occasionally picks up stray litter Dukakis-style along the way) I can definitely say that no other large event on the Common came close to generating the amount of trash, and did as much grass damage, as Hempfest did.

Most other large events last only a day, and while most organizers try to leave out as many trash receptacles as possible, you can usually count on most people using them, even to the point where they start overflowing out. We usually see this at the Esplanade after the 4th of July - either trash gets piled up into pyramids or carried out altogether by the crowd.

But while this was also true in the case of Hempfest, it became clear to me, given how spread out the trash was over such a large area, how much of it was ground into the grass (especially plastic bottle caps and such) and judging by the considerable amount of it, that a lot of people were simply tossing the trash on the ground where they were laying or sitting on the grass, be it for few hours, or overnight for days.

That, combined with the tire gouges and damage done by improperly disposed of fryer grease, made the resulting scene by Monday morning simply disheartening for those who try to take care of our green spaces.

I have nothing against Hempfest itself as long as people act more responsibly- if they can't, it is up to the organizers to clean the mess in a timely manner by hiring the workers needed - the Parks Department budget is stretched thin enough as it is.

Compare it to the Pride Parade. When it started, just coming out was a big deal. Now there’s marriage equity. Is there a point? As long as there’s a community of interest, it’s relevant.