Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

The “Quasi” combo of cannabis and comedy

The “Quasi” combo of cannabis and comedy

April 20, 2023

Coming from the comedy troupe that brought you “Super Troopers” and “Beerfest,”  Broken Lizard brings a new take on the 1996 film “Hunchback...

How to leave 4/20 on a high note

How to leave 4/20 on a high note

April 20, 2023

Rejoice! The 2023rd April 20th celebration is nearly upon us! In honor of Thursday’s holiday, here’s an easy-to-read guide on how to participate...

Overlooking the tents at the Boston Freedom Rally.

MassCann hosts 33rd annual Boston Freedom Rally

September 21, 2022

The Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition hosted its 33rd annual Boston Freedom Rally in the Boston Common Saturday, known by most attendees as “HempFest.”  Originally,...

Hempfest in Boston Common

Marijuana festival hits Boston Common

September 25, 2021

Emerson students grabbed their stashes and lined Boston Common on Saturday, joining the crowds gathered for a fair of marijuana and cannabis-related paraphernalia. The...

Three weed dealers––Jamie, Alex, and John––who spoke with The Beacon on the condition of anonymity, discussed their life as dealers on campus and how it impacts their customers.

Let’s Be Really Blunt: Student dealers on what it’s like being “The Plug”

May 1, 2021

College students, often overwhelmed by the pressures of schoolwork, social life, and on-campus extracurricular commitments, not to mention jobs, have increasingly...

 Even as white and Black people use cannabis at similar rates, Black people are 3.64 times more likely to be arrested on charges of weed possession, according to a 2020 ACLU report.

The luxury of neighborhood dispensaries deny America’s racist cannabis criminalization

May 1, 2021

In 1936, a film titled “Reefer Madness” hit the silver screen. Originally titled “Tell Your Children,” the black & white cinema explored the...

Smokey Coffeeshop is just one of the many social cannabis consumption spaces in Amsterdam.

Massachusetts must open social cannabis consumption spaces

May 1, 2021

There we were, three college seniors in pajamas on the back porch, huddled close together in the Boston cold, sharing a celebratory joint after one of...

New England Treatment Access (NETA) in Brookline.

Boston dispensaries turn a new leaf amid pandemic

May 1, 2021

Pure Oasis, the first recreational dispensary to open in a major city on the East Coast, opened its doors for the first time in Boston on March 9, 2020,...

Cannabis Control Commision Chairman Steve Hoffman speaks to the media after the CCC voted to approve delivery regulations. Montse Landeros / Beacon Correspondent

Cannabis delivery regulations passed

September 25, 2019

The Cannabis Control Commission voted to approve regulations allowing marijuana delivery and a pilot program for social consumption facilities in their...

NETA opened its first recreational shop close to a green line Riverway stop in Brookline. Photo by William Bloxham / Beacon Staff

First recreational cannabis shop to open in greater Boston area

March 21, 2019

New England Treatment Access Brookline location will open on March 23 as the first dispensary to offer non-medicinal cannabis in the greater Boston area....

This month, Emerson Polling Society has surveyed marijuana opinions nationwide.

More than half of Americans support marijuana legalization, says ECPS poll

March 27, 2018

The Emerson Polling Society made a name for itself by receiving national attention for polling the 2016 presidential election. This month, their polling...

We need to place smokers and non-smokers on the same moral ground, neither above the other for their choices surrounding drugs. Illustration by Ally Rzesa / Beacon Staff

Cannabis should not dictate creativity

March 27, 2018

In my first literature course at Emerson, I read a beautiful poem by one of my classmates that impressed and moved me. When I told them how much I loved...