Weed Activists Win Meeting With Obama Officials After Illegal Smoking Demonstration
Steve Birr on April 25, 2016 at The Daily Caller News Foundation
Activists who violated federal law with a public marijuana smoking demonstration in front of the White House will meet with the Obama Administration Monday to discuss the future of legalization.
Adam Eidinger and Nikolas Schiller spearheaded Initiative 71, which legalized up to two ounces of marijuana for personal home consumption in the District of Columbia. The pair helped organize an April 2 protest in the Capitol, including a massive public smoking demonstration which the secret service grudgingly allowed.
Now Eidinger and Schiller will meet with White House officials Monday to lobby President Obama to remove marijuana from the Schedule I list, reports WJLA. Marijuana’s current designation categorizes it with substances, such as heroin and cocaine. But they argue this status is ridiculous, because of what they see as large differences between weed and deadly narcotics.
“While President Obama may have inherited failed drug policies, he also has an obligation to address these failures in a meaningful and responsible way,” Eidinger said in a press release. “As we approach the twilight of his administration, we are calling on President Obama to take immediate action before it is too late.”
President Obama’s overall apathy on the issue only enables countless men of color and others to be needlessly incarnated, medical research to be placed on hold for no good reason and the classification of cannabis as a Schedule I drug to carelessly continue,” Eidinger continued.
Activists drew attention to their public smoking demonstration by bringing an inflatable 51 foot joint, with the hope of getting the attention of the president. Many activists feel Obama let them down by not giving due attention to legalization during his presidency. (RELATED: Weed Activists Roll Up To The White House To Protest Obama)
While many states have decriminalized the substance, including Washington, D.C., the federal law holds supremacy. In D.C., there is an ongoing battle between the City Council, Mayor Muriel Bowser and U.S. Congress, which controls funding packages for the District and is currently preventing regulation or taxation of the substance. The future looks uncertain in the District, but the D.C. Council says they will reevaluate the law if Congress allows some measure of local control.
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience.
This article is republished with permission from our friends at The Daily Caller News Foundation
Utah Standard News depends on the support of readers like you.
Good Journalism requires time, expertise, passion and money. We know you appreciate the coverage here. Please help us to continue as an alternative news website by becoming a subscriber or making a donation. To learn more about our subscription options or make a donation, click here.
To Advertise on UtahStandardNews.com, please contact us at: ed@utahstandardnews.com.
Comments - No Responses to “Weed Activists Win Meeting With Obama Officials After Illegal Smoking Demonstration”
Sure is empty down here...