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Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition

Organization

Layered newspapers, civic records and oral-history reels arranged as chronological evidence
History and societyInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 29, 2026
Entity authorityQ6784211
Source-derived summary

The Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition (MassCann) is a non-profit public education organization working for the moderation of marijuana laws. MassCann organizes the Freedom Rally on Boston Common every third Saturday in September. Their newsletter, Mass Grass, is published six times annually. Membership is open to the public and leadership is democratically elected at the annual winter membership meeting, usually held in March. In June 2019, MassCann had its status as an affiliate of National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws suspended due to controversy surrounding now former Board Member Samson Racioppi.

History

MassCann was founded October 21, 1990, by Steven S. Epstein, Linda Noel, John Hardin, Madelyn Webster, Gary Insuik, Christopher Perron, John Miqliorini, Therese Slye and Ron Massad. Linda Noel was the first president and was also active with the High Times Freedom Fighters. Steven Epstein was the first clerk and Madelyn (Maddy) Webster was the first treasurer. In 1991 Dave Getchell was elected president, but after just a few months Dave handed the job to Bill Downing who served as president until 2004. Steven Epstein, an attorney, was elected treasurer in 1991 and remained treasurer through January 2012.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition” as organization. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Massachusetts, Cannabis and Reform.

Editorial reviewMost valuable as an event-and-institution map that identifies actors, dates and record creators for deeper historical inquiry. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2019, 1990, 1991, 2004—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1990. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Massachusetts, Cannabis and Reform providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition”, the useful work is to connect “organization” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6784211. VIAF identifies the subject as 3513151247989744270007. The Library of Congress control number is no2017154311. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2019, 1990, 1991 and 2004.

Critical limits

Later summaries often reconcile disputed chronology or motive more neatly than the contemporary record permits. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.

Best used for
  • Event chronology
  • Institutional context
  • Locating named record creators
Verify next

Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition primary sources, Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition archive and Massachusetts research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition”?
  2. Which voices are present, absent or mediated by the institution?
  3. What chronology connects this entry to wider political or social change?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.