Pubdate: Fri, 15 Dec 2017
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2017 Globe Newspaper Company
Contact: http://services.bostonglobe.com/news/opeds/letter.aspx?id=6340
Website: http://bostonglobe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52
Author: Steve Annear

HIGH AMBITIONS: POT ADVOCACY GROUP TO ATTEMPT TO BUILD 100-FOOT

JOINT

Beantown Greentown is trying to build a 100-foot-long joint this
weekend at a marijuana expo event in Worcester. This is a practice
run.

Keith Laham and his friends have been practicing for the past few
months.

They have gathered in his cellar, in other people's cellars - you name
it, the 42-year-old West Roxbury native said.

But this weekend will mark the true attempt, and Laham, cofounder of
Beantown Greentown, a medical marijuana advocacy group, lifestyle
brand, and cannabis club, has high ambitions for it.

During the inaugural "Harvest Cup" in Worcester on Saturday and Sunday
- - a gathering of promarijuana vendors, industry leaders, and speakers
- - Laham and up to 40 volunteers will try to craft a 100-foot-long
joint to set an unofficial world record.

The weekend-long gathering, which will take place at the DCU Center,
is sponsored by the Massachusetts Grower Advocacy Council,
MassCann/NORML, and the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance. The
Harvest Cup is a nonconsumption event, organizers say, and is open to
people 21 and over.

"It seems so ridiculous, a 100-foot bone," Laham said. "And it is,
when you think about it." But that doesn't mean it can't, or
shouldn't, be done, apparently.

The effort is to be completed Saturday at the significant time of 4:20
p.m. - April 20 is considered "Weed Day.''

Laham said that to accomplish the feat, the group will bring just over
2 pounds of marijuana to the event and lay it out on a long table.

It will then work in smaller groups to build the joint, funneling the
leaves into strips of paper, before eventually stitching them together
to make one consecutive joint, he said.

"It's pretty much impossible to roll a 100-foot bone by throwing paper
out there and trying to just roll it," Laham said. "But when we get
sections and teams of people, then we will be able to do it. We will
have guys running up and down making sure it gets connected in the
right places."

The possession and consumption of recreational marijuana was legalized
in Massachusetts last year. It's against the law to smoke it or use
marijuana-based products in public places, however. The state Cannabis
Control Commission has been crafting regulations for the new law.

Peter Bernard, president and director of the nonprofit Massachusetts
Growers Advocacy Council, said the event will probably draw 4,000 to
6,000 people interested in the burgeoning industry and the history of
the marijuana-legalization movement. He described it as a cannabis
trade show, expo, and competition.

Attendees will not be able to purchase any THC-based products this
weekend but can sit in on speaker sessions; watch live demonstrations
on how to make marijuana-laced foods; and learn about businesses in
the region, he said.

Bernard said Beantown Greentown approached the council when the group
learned about the Harvest Cup and asked if it could attempt to build
the joint on site.

"And we said, 'Come on down, it would be a great thing to have," Bernard 
said.

Organizers tried to get Guinness World Records to attend, for a shot
at getting Beantown Greentown in the books, but the request was rebuffed.

"It seems so ridiculous, a 100-foot bone," Keith Laham said. "And it
is, when you think about it."

"We currently do not monitor this category as it is deemed illegal
under British law," a Guinness spokeswoman said in an e-mail. "As we
are based out of the UK, it is our policy to monitor record titles
that are legal under British law."

Still, Laham and his friends will forge ahead.

During practice runs, the group has managed to build a 93-foot joint
using a combination of marijuana from multiple people. Laham is
certain that adding an extra 7 feet to the joint they create this
weekend won't be an issue.

There is one problem on his mind, however: "The only unfortunate part
is that we can't smoke it inside the DCU Center," he said. "It would
be epic to smoke a 100-foot bone."

Instead, they might cut it up into sections, and give away smaller
joints as a memento to mark the occasion, he said.
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MAP posted-by: Matt