Statement on Attorney General Sessions

DCMJ Urges President Trump to Stop Sessions from Reversing Course of Legalization

WASHINGTON, DC — Legalization advocates DCMJ, the organization that spearheaded Initiative 71 that legalized cannabis in the District of Columbia, issued the following statement Wednesday regarding the Senate confirming Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) as U.S. Attorney General.

Adam Eidinger, co-founder DCMJ stated:

“Despite all the damning evidence brought against him, the Senate today rubber-stamped colleague Jeff Sessions to serve as Attorney General in the Trump Administration. Sessions is a failed war on drugs zealot who has gone so far as to suggest that marijuana offenders deserve the death penalty. To say he is out of touch with the legalization wave rolling through the United States would be an understatement. Sessions is a threat to states rights, the will of the voters and the legalization movement as a whole.

“Conversely, President Trump is on-the-record with his support for states rights and medical marijuana, promising a hands-off federal approach to states with legalization laws enacted. We are hopeful that the commander-in-chief, along with leaders from law enforcement, the civil rights community and cannabis activists, will take the opportunity to help enlighten Sessions on responsible drug policy reforms.”

Nikolas Schiller, DCMJ co-founder, added:

“Senator Sessions statements earlier this year are quite clear: it is up to Congress to pass legislation that absolves him of the responsibility of turning a blind eye towards cannabis. The silver lining is that if President Trump keeps his campaign promises, Sessions will judiciously use taxpayer dollars on the Federal enforcement of cannabis similar to the previous administration. I urge Congress to take up legislation that will allow the new Attorney General to focus his time on more important issues facing the American people.

“But if President Trump wants to take cash out of the hands of international drug cartels and create millions of tax-paying jobs, then America’s cannabis community is a willing partner. If President Trump wants to overhaul healthcare and help veterans, America’s medical cannabis community is also a willing partner. Partnerships make America great, but until cannabis is fully legalized, the full potential of America is not being achieved.

“Looking at the 2016 Election and the eight states that passed new responsible marijuana measures in November, an interesting political trend reveals itself: cannabis polls high across party lines—independents, Libertarians, Green Party, Republicans and Democrats. The evidence of this can be seen in the 28 states and the District of Columbia that have already enacted sensible drug policy reforms. Americans are now looking to the President and Congress to change the laws nationally and replace them with more common sense approaches towards cannabis. You don’t have to be a farmer or a political scientist to realize that Americans want President Trump and Congress to act now.”

Please email Press@DCMJ.org with any follow-up questions.

#SmokeSessions

Do not let Senator Sessions undo the work we've done!

Now for some good news: On Election Day nearly all of the cannabis-related ballot initiatives passed! (Sorry Arizona, you got outspent!) The number of Americans living in states with legal cannabis grew from roughly 17 million to over 67 million & counting. Before the election President Obama said “that is not gonna be tenable” for such a large number of Americans to live under one set of cannabis laws and others live under a different set laws. The time is ripe for Congress to pass legislation that will end the government’s harassment and arrests of peaceful cannabis users and their families!

Now for the bad news: Donald Trump has tapped one of the biggest prohibitionists in Congress to be the Attorney General of the United States: Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions. Earlier this year the Alabama Senator said “good people don’t smoke marijuana,” and while we don’t know yet if he’ll respect states rights (or DC’s rights since we are not a state) or if he’ll do what John Ashcroft did as George W. Bush’s Attorney General: raid lawful cannabis grows, raid lawful dispensaries, and even go so far as crack down on paraphernalia vendors. Let’s not forget why Tommy Chong went to jail and why history may repeat itself if we don’t act NOW!

We can’t idly sit by and watch all the hard work we’ve done to legalize cannabis in DC be eroded by an out of touch prohibitionist!

We are calling for a series of demonstrations against Jeff Sessions between NOW and January 20, 2017.

JOIN US FOR THE #SMOKESESSIONS

Our first #SmokeSessions will be at his Congressional Office ( 326 Russell Senate Office Building ) Monday, November 28, at HIGH NOON!

ROLL CALL: Pot Advocates Protest Jeff Sessions’ AG Nomination
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT: Pot Activists Get Jeff Sessions Staff Meeting After Insinuating They Would Stage Office Smoke-in

— VIDEO:


Join us Thursday, December 8 for #ShowSessions

Our second #SmokeSessions was called #ShowSessions and took place at High Noon on Thursday, December 8.

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT: Activists Roll Joint, Offer Free Pot at Jeff Sessions Office as Threats Swirl to Legalization Framework
WASHINGTON TIMES: Legal weed advocates sneak marijuana into Jeff Sessions’ Senate office

#ShowSessions on Capitol Hill, Dec 08 2016 from Mike Flugennock



Our third #SmokeSessions will be at 8AM, Tuesday, January 3, 2017 outside Union Station. We’ll greet Senate staffers, interns, and members of Congress on their way to their first day in the 115th Congress. At 9:30am we’ll visit Senate offices and drop off suggested questions for Sessions’ confirmation hearing. Click here to RSVP on Facebook!

Our fourth #SmokeSessions will be at the Senate Judiciary Confirmation Hearing for Senator Sessions on Tuesday, January 10 and Wednesday, January 11. DCMJ is seeking volunteers to line sit outside the hearing room. Please fill out this Google Doc if you can help! You can also RSVP on Facebook for SmokeSessions #4 (aka HearSessions), but please note, an RSVP on Facebook does not get you inside the hearing room. The number of seats we get inside the hearing room is contingent on the number of line sitters who volunteer!

Our fifth #SmokeSessions will be at the Inauguration on January 20, 2017.


• We demand the President-Elect Trump make a clear and unequivocal statement that he supports the full-legalization of cannabis in every State. And to urge the 115th Congress to pass legislation that removes cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act within the first 100 days.

• Second, we demand Senator Sessions evolve on his position that cannabis users are not only good people, but they deserve the same treatment under the law as alcohol users, prescription drug users, and non-users.

• Third, we demand Senator Sessions allow the various States and the District of Columbia the authority to make their own laws concerning cannabis without Federal government intervention.

• Fourth, we demand Senator Sessions investigate the racial disparities of federal minimum sentencing guidelines and the associated costs to the American taxpayers for maintaining the largest prison system in the world.

Our demands call for a respect for personal liberty, States rights, and good governance.

Please help us out and spread the word by using the hashtag #SmokeSessions and inviting your friends to the upcoming demonstrations!