Marijuana Activists Toke up at White House

A group of activists gathered outside the White House Saturday afternoon. Armed with lighters and bongs and sweet ganja, they packed their pipes, rolled their doobies, and sparked up in protest of Obama's slack-offery on ending the prohibition of marijuana. (See here for story).

Angry pot heads march on Washington D.C.

Protesters want President Obama to reclassify marijuana, to which Obama responds; go ask congress. Protesters response: we're going to get baked in your front yard. na-na-na-boo-boo. (Not a verbatim quote)

The event, dubbed #Reschedule4/20, was aimed at pushing President Obama and Congress to reclassify marijuana by proving that using it is not dangerous. Organized by D.C. Cannabis Campaign (DCMJ), using a group on Facebook, invited folks to show up and spark up in unison at 4:20 pm on April 2nd. On their Facebook page the group challenges Presidential candidates as well as our current commander in chief to step up and do away with the failed prohibition on a federal level.

Legalizing cannabis has been a hot topic in recent years as science has been repeatedly proving the plant's usefulness in medicine and disproving fears of addiction, insanity and lawlessness stemming from the Reefer Madness smear campaign of the 1930's.

A little dramatic, don't ya think?

As of February last year it is lawful to possess up to two ounces of weed in our nation's capitol, but it's still illegal to smoke it in public. The local police were there, catching a free buzz, but no arrests were made. Although present, police "were very respectful," says protest organizer Adam Eidinger. However, the secret service put out their giant inflatable joint idea due to security concerns. (Bummer, man).

But will it work? One concern is the affect a park full of stoners emitting a hot cloud of smoky happiness will have on the sober folks walking by, sober folks who may vote against the cause after catching an unsolicited contact high.

Tom Angell, founder of Marijuana Majority, another marijuana advocacy group, feels filling the park with marijuana smoke sends the wrong message to voters. “Smoking in a public park where families and children are vacationing is not going to be the way to encourage the president or member of Congress to do what we need them to do,” said Angell. 

 If the road to change is paved with paperwork, perhaps these well-meaning activists just rolled up their reputation and smoked it. On the other hand though, maybe a few of those men with the pens caught a whiff of it in the air that day. And maybe they relaxed just a little and enjoyed it.

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