Smoke-In

Letter to President Obama Concerning #Reschedule420

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The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC

Dear President Obama,

This is our 3rd letter to you in the last two years concerning cannabis reform. DCMJ previously wrote you before Ballot Initiative 71 was voted on in the District of Columbia and after the initiative passed with over 70% of the vote. Unfortunately, we haven’t received a reply from our previous letters. This lack of correspondence is why we are writing you today.

Next month DCMJ is rescheduling the international cannabis day of celebration, April 20 to Saturday, April 2, and making it a protest of your inaction on cannabis reform. We are rescheduling the date to urge you to use your power as the president to reschedule cannabis. As a former cannabis (and current?) user, you know firsthand that cannabis does not belong in the Controlled Substances Act. While thousands of Americans die each each year due to dangerous drugs like heroin, the placement of cannabis in the same category makes a mockery of the Controlled Substances Act and breeds distrust in our law enforcement and our government .

I anticipate hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans will join us at 4:20pm for mass-consumption of cannabis on Pennsylvania Ave. as form of civil disobedience. However, I am willing to call off the mass-consumption of cannabis if you agree to a Bud Summit, where leaders of the cannabis reform movement are invited to the White House to discuss steps you can take to end the failed War on Drugs you inherited as president.

As American citizens of the District of Columbia, we do not have Senators or Representatives to advocate for us in Congress. Thanks to the 23rd amendment to the Constitution, we only have you to speak for us. I am tired of waiting for Congress to reschedule cannabis. They would rather continue the failed War on Drugs instead of actually fixing the problems facing America. DCMJ respectfully urges you to call out their failed leadership and fix a genuine problem that you have the power to fix. No more lives need to be ruined with unethical imprisonment for cannabis-related crimes if you act now.

Sincerest Regards,

Adam Eidinger
Founder, DCMJ

Photo of our previous mailing:

Thank You from the DC Democracy Vigil!

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A big thank you goes out to all the volunteers who came out to the DC Democracy Vigil. For 6 days and nights, we vigiled on the National Mall along 3rd Street, spoke to thousands of tourists about DC Democracy, and generated numerous news stories about our demand for political equality. At the end of the vigil we were visited by Congresswoman Norton, who expressed her support for our efforts.

Here’s some of the news we generated over the last week:
DC News FOX 5 DC WTTG

WNEW – Activists Call for D.C. Marijuana Law Reform on 4/20
WUSA9 – DC lawmaker joins group calling for statehood
DCist – D.C. Statehood Activists Raise A Liberty Pole, Set Up Camp In Front Of The Capitol
Washington Post – Marijuana and statehood activists are chaining themselves to ‘liberty pole’ on the Mall
Washington Post – Gyrocopter lands on Capitol lawn; pilot is arrested
Washington Post TV – Protesters describe gyrocopter’s Capitol descent
Washington Post – D.C. residents and activists light up on the National Mall for 4/20
Roll Call – Calls for D.C. Rights Mount on Tax Day, Emancipation Day
McClatchy – As pot lovers mark their holiday, ‘420 is the new everything’
CNN – Being Moody: Growing pot next door to Congress
NBC News – Watch the Gyro-copter Land on the U.S. Capitol Lawn

DC News FOX 5 DC WTTG