Barney Frank at Mount Holyoke College

Former US Congressman Barney Frank speaks on his new book Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage at Mount Holyoke College's Gamble Auditorium. (Dave Roback/ The Republican)

(Dave Roback / The Republican file)

BOSTON - Former Congressman Barney Frank is helping the effort to legalize marijuana for recreational use in Massachusetts with plans to headline a fundraiser at the Harvard Club.



Frank, who served as a Massachusetts Democrat in the US House of Representatives for 32 years before retiring in 2013, will be at the tony Harvard Club on Aug. 28. The fundraiser is scheduled to take place between 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.



The "Yes on 4" campaign, which previously went by the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, is seeking to pass the marijuana legalization question on the November 2016 ballot.



"It is an activity that many people enjoy with no tangible effect on anyone else--with the possible exception of a friend who eats your entire bag of potato chips," Frank wrote in a piece for POLITICO magazine in August 2015.



Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) is also slated to attend the fundraiser.



"Only 150 tickets are available for this special event," the Facebook page for the event said. "Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres will be served. "



Tickets were priced at $250 per person, and the fundraising page said the campaign has "12 weeks left to raise $3 million."



Marijuana legalization is opposed by the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts, a bipartisan coalition.



Gov. Charlie Baker, a popular Republican in the Bay State, and Democrats like Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and House Speaker Robert DeLeo oppose legalization, arguing it leads to people using harder substances.



The State House News Service, which first noted the Question 4 fundraiser, reported on Tuesday the Yes on 4 campaign has so far made plans to advertise on WHDH, WCVB and WBZ-TV for a total of $631,635.