Marijuana Advocates handed out thousands of joints during Trump’s Inauguration

Posted by Sagar Satapathy on January 30, 2017.

Taking a colorful and fascinating protests on Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day, a marijuana legalization advocacy group, the DCMJ, handed out around 8,000 free joints to the public appealing to federally legalize the use of marijuana both for medical and recreational purposes.

Organizers started handing out joints in DuPont Circle, the tony neighborhood northwest of the White House, at 8 am on Friday. They stood inside a homemade jail cell in order to make a statement on the need for legalization.

Protesters planned to light up four minutes and 20 seconds in Trump's inaugural address, which was a nod to a popular marijuana holiday that falls on April 20.

The mass distribution was totally legal, as the city's initiative 71 became effective in November 2015, allowing D.C. residents to possess up to two ounces of marijuana and "gift" up to one ounce, if neither money nor goods or services are exchanged.

 “We were there as a sign of protest. We think marijuana should be legal at a federal level,” said Andrea Ovelle, one of the volunteers.

Many pointed out that Mr. Barack Obama had failed on a vow to legalize marijuana at a federal level. They also said that countless thousands of Americans – a disproportionate number of them people of color – were serving prison terms for minor drug offences. On the other hand, a sizeable number of people believed that the business-minded Mr. Trump might understand both the commercial and medical benefits of marijuana legalization across the country.

DCMJ, a Washington.-based group which focuses on marijuana laws and “equal rights for DC marijuana users, growers, and their families,” organized the event with the mission to build awareness on marijuana reform in Trump administration.

comments powered by Disqus