[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has ruled that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority violated the free speech rights of a group promoting the legalization of marijuana when it refused to accept advertisements by the group. In an opinion released Monday, the court ruled that MBTA’s decision not to permit the ads by Change the Climate violated the First Amendment because it was based on viewpoint discrimination. MBTA argued that it could prohibit the ads, alleging the ads encouraged kids to smoke marijuana, but the court found that they were no more influential on minors than alcohol ads carried by MBTA. Read the opinion here. AP has more.