If the Trump inauguration is the last place you’d ever want to be on January 20, well, what if I told you that you might be able to get your hands on some free weed just by showing up? Marijuana legalization activists are planning to hand out 420 free joints during the inauguration to urge the new administration to make pot legal in all 50 states. [1]
That amounts to 40 ounces of green. Woah.
Unless Trump announces his support for marijuana legalization, the pot activists will light up 4 minutes and 20 seconds into his speech. [2]
Make sure you dress in layers; it’s cold out there. And bring eye drops.
The joints will be handed out by DCMJ, the same group behind the ballot initiative that legalized pot in Washington, DC, in 2014. [1]
DCMJ founder Adam Eidinger explained the purpose of the smoke-in (smoke-out?):
“We are forced to do this type of publicity stunt because the Trump administration hasn’t mentioned marijuana once since he was elected. It reminds people that the public wants change, and the politicians aren’t doing it.”
Truer words have perhaps never been spoken. Marijuana activists and everyday users had hoped the DEA would reclassify pot as a Schedule II drug, but it announced in August that weed would stay firmly planted in the Schedule I category, alongside truly dangerous drugs like heroin and bath salts. As a Schedule I drug, marijuana is not considered to have any medicinal value in the eyes of the government.
The giveaway raises awareness on 2 fronts – First, even though recreational marijuana was legalized in DC by voters in 2014, it’s still illegal to buy or sell the drug there because Congress barred city lawmakers from passing new marijuana laws.
Second, DCMJ hope to align with Trump supporters who approve marijuana legalization in their home states so they can team up to push the Republican administration to expand legalization and address regulations that make it difficult for pot-related businesses to operate.
The group plans to hand out the joints at 8 a.m. on the west side of Dupont Circle, then march to the National Mall where the real protest will begin. [2]
Even though marijuana is legal in DC, it is illegal to use cannabis in public spaces, or on federal property.
Eidinger said:
“We are going to tell them that if they smoke on federal property, they are risking arrest. But, that’s a form of civil disobedience. I think it’s a good protest. If someone wants to do it, they are risking arrest, but it’s a protest and you know what, the National Mall is a place for protest.”
Eidinger, along with marijuana proponents nationwide, are worried about the future of marijuana legalization under Donald Trump, and for good reason. Though Trump has expressed support for state marijuana laws in the past, he named uber-conservative Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions as his attorney general, and that’s pot activists’ main concern.
Sessions is extremely anti-pot, and has gone so far as to say that “good people don’t smoke marijuana.” During current Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s confirmation hearings, Sessions said he believed that one of the key responsibilities of the nation’s top prosecutor was to oppose state-level legalization.
Suffice it to say, Jan. 20 will be an eventful day in Washington, DC, and it would be shocking if there wasn’t at least some uncivil disobedience, but the DCMJ protesters aren’t interested in causing a disruption, just raising awareness to their cause.
“If there are people from Texas, some Cowboys fan, who is walking down the street in a cowboy hat and a big fur coat and he walks up to our demonstration, I want him to feel welcome coming to D.C.”
Sources:
[2] USA Today
