The D.C. Cannabis Campaign is a community group that advocates for the rights of cannabis users in D.C., and they recently announced a protest rally to be held in front of the White House this year. The message they are trying to promote is to get President Obama to reschedule cannabis without going through congress, which the group says he has the power to do.
The un-permitted event will feature speakers and participants who are expected to engage in civil disobedience openly.
Adam Eidinger, organizer for the group, says that “There is a huge pent-up demand for this right now, we actually do have the support to do this. We’re calling on the whole country to come. This is a national mobilization. Some of us may end up in jail, and that’s fine. It’s actually necessary at this point.”
The protest was “rescheduled” to April 2nd instead of the customary 4/20 date, which was done to show the emphasis on pressuring the president to reschedule cannabis federally. The decision to hold this protest came about by the group polling it’s supporters on whether they should do this protest or not, after Bill Maher smoked a joint on air during his HBO show and advocated that marijuana be legalized federally.
Eidinger is expecting around 1,000 people and a invitation was sent to Bill Maher as well. He says that “We have to take action now, that’s the idea. If it’s not going to happen under Obama, it’s sure as hell not going to happen with Hillary.”