Cannabis Legalization Advocates To Give Away 8,400 Free Joints on Inauguration Day

“Due to an overwhelming public response and an unprecedented grassroots outpouring of support for our #Trump420 legalization efforts, we now plan to give away 8,400 joints to adults for free on Inauguration Day,” said Adam Eidinger, co-founder DCMJ. “Without such an organic showing of citizen engagement and participation, we couldn’t have rolled 840 joints a day in just 10-days time. We thank all of you, who have continued to support our mission of driving responsible marijuana laws forward.”

DCMJ’s #Trump420 legalization efforts encourage adult voters to use their voices and votes to urge President-elect Trump to maintain his campaign-stated support for D.C.- and state-legal marijuana laws, and to keep the U.S. Department of Justice’s hands-off approach to voter-passed responsible marijuana initiatives.  Today, the cannabis industry provides tens of thousands of jobs to Americans and is estimated to reach $20.2 billion by 2021 according to The Arcview Group. However, to date, U.S. Attorney General nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions and President-elect Trump have stated opposing positions regarding sensible drug policy reforms and the role of D.C.’s  and states’ rights in legalizing the cannabis plant, which has been proven to be less harmful than alcohol and tobacco—two legal substances under federal law.

“Leaving the District of Columbia and the 28 states that have passed responsible marijuana laws, along with a booming multibillion dollar industry hanging in the wind isn’t the best way to handle this issue,” said Eidinger. “As we watch President Obama leave office, we know he’ll be able to say that he stood on the right side of this issue. Soon, we will be under a new watch. Unfortunately though, we still don’t have clarity on whether or not President-elect Trump will tell Sen. Sessions, a known foe of sensible drug policy reforms, that his approaches are outdated and ineffective. If Trump stands up on this issue, he will be on the right side of history, and we will gladly stand down. Our Inauguration Day efforts are also meant to remind President-elect Trump that there are bipartisan opportunities here to implement criminal justice reforms while enjoying the fruits of job-creation and commerce.  We would like to work together, but we need clarity and leadership on this issue now—before it’s too late.”

Cannabis remains illegal under federal law, yet current drug policies on the federal books do not reach their stated goals and the implementation of the current federal policies continue to ruin lives, stifle job creation and innovation, target minorities at disproportionate rates, prevent patients from accessing compassionate care, and cause misinformed judgments about the plant and its consumers.

“We are encouraging Americans to use their civil liberties and speak out against these failed policies of the past,’” said Eidinger. “We need to seriously ask ourselves if we want to risk arrest, lose a job, be charged with a felony, watch on the sidelines as minorities pay all too high of a price, witness a loved one be denied access to medical treatments that improves their quality of life—or for that matter—if vast majority of voters actually think that smoking a joint should be a criminal offense under federal law?  If you look at this past election, the answer seems clear—no—they do not. We expect our legalization efforts to only gain more active, vocal supporters and traction as we continue to organize our constituents and efforts and push responsible marijuana laws forward. Our hope is that the new administration stands with us, and not against us in this long overdue effort to address our nation’s failed drug policies.”

To learn more about DCMJ’s Inaugural #Trump420 effort please: visit http://dcmj.org; follow DCMJ on Twitter at @DCMJ2014; likeDCMJ on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/dcmj2014/; or make a donation via http://dcmj.org/donate/.