It was like Christmas, she said, but this group’s tree was a bit different.

When a man passed RachelRamone Donlan a clear bag of pot seeds, and a “dab” — a concentrated form of cannabis that contains THC — she danced in place, shuffling her feet from side to side while twisting her body with joy.

The smell of unsmoked “nuggets” wafted through the air outside the State House Thursday, as a small group of pot enthusiasts who had gathered to celebrate marijuana being legal brazenly gave away portions of the leafy drug to one another.

“I’m very excited,” said Donlan, who was wearing pot leaf earrings, a winter hat with pot leaves printed on it, and a green faux fur jacket. “We did this in public in front of the State House, and it’s completely legal. It’s under the limit, and no one is going to get in trouble for it anymore.”

Donlan said she also brought a “nice big joint” that she planned to give to a friend, to usher in the historic moment for supporters who have long lobbied for legalization in Massachusetts.


As of Thursday, it became legal for people over the age of 21 to smoke and possess a limited quantity of marijuana. While selling the drug is still against the law, at least until retail stores open sometime in 2018, those who enjoy lighting up are allowed to receive marijuana for free.

To showcase the new law and celebrate the pot “gifting,” Ellen Brown, an educator at the Northeastern Institute of Cannabis, a Natick-based school that teaches courses about the marijuana industry, held in her palm a pile of pine-cone shaped buds. The crop, she said, was symbolic — and there was nothing wrong with sharing it with friends.

“We’re allowed to give away up to an ounce, we’re allowed to give away concentrates, we’re allowed to give away seeds,” she said. “And that’s the way it should be.”


Nearby, Keith Saunders showed off a large mason jar filled to the brim with a light-green strain of marijuana.

A day earlier, such a move would have led to a civil infraction. But with the new law in place, there was nothing to fear as he twisted the cap off the jar, letting the smell of marijuana sail into the nostrils of those standing around him.

“[Standing here with the jar] means we have common sense in our drug policies,” said Saunders, a board member with the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

He added that the rally was “a little celebration of the holidays.”

While possessing marijuana and smoking it at home is legal, partaking in a few puffs in public spaces — say, like the State House steps — is not. Marijuana is also still illegal under federal law.

But that didn’t stop two men who sat apart from the rally attendees from toking up.

Friends Stephen Hession and Cesar Valle brought to Beacon Hill a legal amount of “purple haze,” a few joints, and a long wooden pipe they called “Gandalf,” named for the bearded wizard from the “Lord of the Rings” books and films who was often smoking.

The pair said they were blazing outdoors in protest.

Hession, wearing a winter hat that read, “Get High,” said the new law is a step in the right direction. But they both agreed that more needs to be done to completely end the prohibition of pot.


“I still believe that we should have open use,” Valle chimed in.

And with that, he pulled out “Gandalf,” placed the tip of the pipe into his mouth, and asked for a lighter.