DCMJ, a marijuana advocacy group out of the District of Columbia, will be handing out 4,200 joints at the inauguration on January 20th, with hopes that people will light up four minutes and twenty seconds into Donald Trump’s presidency. Each joint will be just under 2 oz, the legal amount that is allowed to be carried on someone’s person in DC, and they will be handed to anyone who is willing to take them.
The act of civil disobedience has been organized by the founder of DCMJ, Adam Eidinger, who hopes that people will light up the joints as an expression of their right to use marijuana in the District. DCMJ, which has also been known as the DC Cannabis Campaign, is focused on protecting the rights of cannabis growers and users, as well as their families. DCMJ focuses on community based marijuana advocacy and helped the 71st ballot initiative pass in DC to allow for recreational marijuana use. They have also been part of fighting issues like racially biased arrests for marijuana offenses.
Eidinger hopes that their message is heard, and actually smelled, by Trump’s Attorney General selection, Jeff Sessions. Sessions is a staunch marijuana opponent who has applauded the War on Drugs, making him enemy number one for the marijuana industry. Eidinger said he would be willing to talk to Trump about his organization’s goals if the president elect reached out to him.
Though the plan involves people smoking the marijuana joints being distributed, Eidinger has clearly stated that no one handing out the joints will ask anyone to smoke in public, because public consumption of marijuana is still illegal in DC. He has said, however, that it would be a positive act of non-violent civil disobedience if people did choose to light up during the inauguration and that he would be willing to pay the legal bills for anyone who is arrested while participating in the act of defiance.
