For Immediate Release
July 7, 2021
*** Statement from DCMJ Co-Founder Adam Eidinger ***
Legalization Advocate Condemns the Deplorable Decision to Ban Sha’Carri Richardson
Fastest Woman on Earth Wrongly Shamed for Legally Consuming Cannabis While in Mourning
Biden Must Do More than Just Question Rule USATF used to Ban Sha’Carri from Olympics
WASHINGTON, DC – The following is a statement from Adam Eidinger, co-founder of District of Columbia Marijuana Justice (DCMJ), on the decision by U.S. Olympic Track & Field (USATF) to ban Sha’Carri Richardson from the Olympics after testing positive for legally consuming cannabis in Oregon after learning of her mother’s death last month just days before winning the women’s 100 meter final at U.S. Olympic Trials in Oregon last month.
“The decision to ban the fastest woman on earth from the 100-meter and 4×100-meter relay is travesty of justice and a disgusting tribute to the failed war on drugs that has done far more to destroy lives for 50 years than even the deadliest wars or pandemic. Shaming Sha’Carri for consuming cannabis in a state where it is legal to do so while she was distraught over getting the shocking news from a reporter of her mother’s death is a despicable act of abuse and selfishness that is way out of touch with the majority of Americans, who support the legalization of cannabis. This decision must be condemned as strongly as possible. For the first time in my life I plan to boycott watching the Olympics. While President Biden, notorious for writing and backing legislation that has contributed exponentially to the incarceration of non-violent cannabis users, hid behind his statement that ‘rules are the rules’ regarding Sha’Carri, he seemed to open the door to re-evaluating those rules when he added, ‘Whether they should remain that way is a different issue.’ However, it’s not enough to question the rules or condemn this deplorable decision. We must have changes immediately.”
DCMJ calls for these first steps to remedy this and other related injustices and unscientific and irrational policy decisions:
- USATF reinstating Sha’Carri immediately and allowing her to compete in the 100-meter and 4×100-meter relay
- Congress joining states all around the country in legalizing cannabis for medical and adult use.
- President Biden using his regulatory powers to de-schedule cannabis as a federal Schedule I substance in order to launch comprehensive and conclusive scientific research into the medicinal uses of cannabis to treat physical and psychological pain.
- The immediate release of all Americans incarcerated for the non-violent use of banned substances, beginning with cannabis.
- An apology to Sha’Carri from USATF, the International Olympic Committee and President Biden for promoting the unscientifically backed and racist ‘war on drugs’ that has led to political demagoguery and the shaming and stigmatizing of good people, who use cannabis, live normal lives, and make positive contributions everyday to quality of life around the world.
ABOUT DC MARIJUANA JUSTICE Since its founding in 2013, DCMJ has led the nation in creative and high-profile cannabis reform activism. After introducing and passing DC’s Initiative 71 in 2014, which voters legalized the possession and cultivation of cannabis, DCMJ organized three large seed giveaways that provided all adults and Congressional staffers the means to grow cannabis for themselves, deployed giant 51-foot inflatable joints outside the Capitol, the White House, the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Times Square in New York City, the 2016 Presidential Debates, Annapolis Statehouse and Boston’s Freedom Rally, as well as distributing over 10,000 joints of District of Columbia homegrown cannabis at the Inauguration of President Donald Trump, and attempting to distribute 1,227 joints at the congressional “Joint Session” in 2017, where U.S. Capitol Police unlawfully arrested seven DCMJ activists (All charges were dropped the following day). In 2021, DCMJ conceptualized and launched the “Joints for Jabs” coronavirus vaccination incentive program that was spontaneously adopted around the U.S., including by the State of Washington. Also in 2021, DCMJ was behind The Great Commonwealth Cannabis Seed Share, collecting and distributing about 20,000 seeds on the first day of legal home craft cultivation in Virginia. In 2018, 2019, and 2021, aligned organizations MDMJ, VAMJ, COMJ, and NYMJ were formed to advocate for cannabis reform in Maryland, Virginia, Colorado, and New York. DCMJ demands cannabis be removed from the Controlled Substances Act and all Americans are given the right to grow cannabis in the safety and privacy of their homes.
Contact: Adam Eidinger, 202-744-2671, adam@dcmj.org
Ken Bazinet, 202-660-2449, ken@collectiveconsulting.net