- Members of Obama's administration will hold a meeting with marijuana activists on Monday
- The announcement came on '4/20,' a widely recognized day that celebrates marijuana
- Scores of people across America donned drug paraphernalia and consumed marijuana in states where the drug is legal
- In states such as Minnesota where the drug is not legal, protesters marched outside the capitol
By
Alexandra Klausner
Members of Obama's administration
will hold a meeting with marijuana activists on Monday, it was
announced on Wednesday, or '4/20,' which is widely known as a day to
celebrate marijuana and stoner culture.
An
organization created in 2013 that is pushing for the legalization of
pot in the District of Columbia, DCMJ, will meet with an unnamed
political aid after being denied meetings two times before, according
to the Huffington Post.
'DCMJ
appreciates greatly the invitation by the Obama administration to begin
an educated and passionate dialogue into the need to remove cannabis
from the list of Schedule One drugs,' DCMJ co-founder Adam Eidinger said
in a statement.
Corey Coka smokes marijuana during the
annual 4/20 marijuana gathering at Civic Center Park in downtown
Denver. Fans of the drug have long marked April 20 as a day to enjoy
pot, especially at 4:20 p.m.
That's not fog! The Obama
administration announced on Wednesday that they plan to meet with
marijuana activists next week Pictured here are revelers in Canada
blowing smoke into the air
Smoking up: People gather to smoke
marijuana during the '420 Toronto' rally in Toronto on Wednesday, April
20, 2016. Scores also gathered in the U.S. to celebrate the holiday
A woman exhales while smoking
marijuana during the annual 420 marijuana rally on Parliament Hill in
Ottawa, in Canada on Wednesday. Pot has been legal in Canada for medical
use since 2001
Destiny Sneed smokes marijuana during
the annual 4/20 marijuana gathering at Civic Center Park in downtown
Denver, Wednesday, April 20, 2016. Public consumption remains illegal
under the state's recreational pot law, which was passed in 2012
Legal fun: Jerry Ludke sells weed
necklaces during the 420 celebration at Civic Center Park in Denver
where recreational marijuana is legal.
Califonria blazing: Shane Kinoshita
from San Francisco smokes marijuana in Golden Gate Park in the area
unofficially known as 'Hippy Hill' in San Francisco on Wednesday
Sebastian Rosales from Richmond,
Calif., smokes in Golden Gate Park. People descended on the park to
smoke pot for the annual 4/20 celebration, in what may be the last year
marijuana is illegal in California
'Thanks
to Schedule One of the Controlled Substances Act, Americans, especially
people of color, are needlessly incarcerated, and critical medical
research into the healing properties of cannabis is placed on hold for
no good reason,' he added.
In
October 2014, press secretary Josh Earnest said that Obama's policy on
marijuana would not change. Obama has said in the past that he believes
marijuana legalization should be in the hands of the states.
'The
position of my administration has been that we still have federal laws
that classify marijuana as an illegal substance, but we’re not going to
spend a lot of resources trying to turn back decisions that have been
made at the state level on this issue,' Obama said of marijuana
legalization last year. 'My suspicion is that you’re gonna see other
states start looking at this.'
A woman smokes marijuana during the
annual 4/20 marijuana gathering at Civic Center Park in downtown Denver.
Public consumption of the drug is not legal in Denver but she joined a
crowd of people smoking the substance
Lots of laughs: Ilana Glazer, Lucia
Aniello and Paul W. Downs of Comedy Central's 'Time Traveling Bong'
celebrate 4/20 at Chelsea Plaza on April 20, 2016 in New York City
Jade Seitz, from South Lake Tahoe,
Calif., hula hoops in Golden Gate Park. her leggings are adorned with
marijuana leaves in celebration of 4/20 on which people enjoy smoking
pot
Fighting for pot: Protestors gather in
front of Christ Lutheran Church neat the Capitol in St. Paul, Minn.,
Wednesday, April 20, 2016 for a rally held at the at the state Capitol
and also at the nearby church
Eidinger
said he'll use the Monday's meeting to encourage the White House to
host a summit on cannabis before Obama leaves office and that he'll also
ask the White House to put cannabis under the interstate commerce
clause as well as legalize personal cultivation of the drug.
DCMJ's
other co-founder Nikolas Schiller who will be present at the meeting
said that he will try to convince the Obama administration that pot
should not be in the same category as deadly drugs under the Controlled
Substances Act since it also has 'medical purposes.'
Scores
of people across America donned drug paraphernalia and took a puff on
some weed on Wednesday in states where the increasingly decriminalized
drug is legal.
Natalie Rice, left, and Lee Rice,
right, are married by Locq Fortune beneath a canopy of faux marijuana
plants during a ceremony at the Cannabis Chapel, on Wednesday in Las
Vegas. Natalie and Lee Rice were the first couple to marry at the
marijuana themed chapel
Gannon Castner, right, helps a
customer at the Harvest Medical Marijuana Dispensary in San Francisco.
Obama's administration announced it will be meeting with marijuana
activists next week
A screen shows different strains of
marijuana for sale at Blum in Las Vegas. members of the DCMJ group will
be with an unnamed political aid on Monday to push for marijuana
legalization
Thousands
descended on San Francisco's Golden Gate Park to smoke pot for the
annual 4/20 celebration, in what may be the last year marijuana is
illegal in California.
Fans
of the drug have long marked April 20 as a day to roll weed or munch on
pot-laced brownies — especially at 4:20 p.m. — and call for increased
legal access to it.
Crowds with gather in states with legal recreational pot and those where voters and lawmakers are considering it.
In
California, this year's unofficial pot holiday could be the last that
users have to call for legalization, with an initiative expected on the
November ballot. The drug's use for medical purposes got approved in
1996.
Voters
in Nevada, Arizona and Massachusetts also are expected to consider
marijuana legalization measures. And the Vermont Legislature is
discussing a proposal to legalize the possession of up to 1 ounce.
A flag with pot leafs on it hangs at
Civic Center Park in Denver, on April 20. Obama in the past said he
believes that the legalization of marijuana should be up to the states
Customers buy products at the Harvest
Medical Marijuana Dispensary in San Francisco on Wednesday. Activists
argue pot should not be in the same category as deadly drugs since it
has medical purposes
Recreational use already is legal in Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska.
Protestors
gathered in front of a Christ Lutheran Church neat the Capitol in St.
Paul, Minnesota on Wednesday for a rally held at the at the state
Capitol and also at the nearby church involving several of Minnesota's
pro-cannabis groups who marched and rallied to end cannabis prohibition
in Minnesota.
The
4/20 pot holiday that some say has its roots in the San Francisco Bay
Area will bring more police, park rangers and other officials this year
to make sure it's safe for the 15,000 revelers expected to flood the
park's Hippie Hill, Board of Supervisors President London Breed said.
'Because
we, as a city, welcome folks from all over the world, we are doing
everything we can within our capacity to keep the community as safe and
as clean as possible,' Breed told the San Francisco Examiner.
The
unsanctioned event costs the city between $80,000 and $100,000 per year
because agencies are called in to help ensure safety, control heavy
traffic and collect trash.
Crews have cleaned up more than 5 tons of trash in previous years, Breed said.
The
origins of the number 420 as a code for marijuana are murky. Some say
420 was once used by Southern California police to denote marijuana use.
But
others say the number became a code in the 1970s among high school
students in San Rafael, north of San Francisco, who used it as a meeting
time to gather to smoke marijuana after school.
Voices: Protestors stand outside
Christ Lutheran Church after marching to a rally at the state
Capitol.The rally involved several of Minnesota's pro-cannabis groups
who marched and rallied to end cannabis prohibition
Costumes: Andy Schuler wears a costume
for a protest and rally near the Capitol in St. Paul, Minn., to end
cannabis prohibition in Minnesota
Luke Heime talks with construction
workers over their lunch break as the rally to legalize marijuana begins
near the state Capitol in Minnesota where marijuana is not legal
Nearby country: A man smokes marijuana during an annual 4/20 rally on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada
No comments:
Post a Comment