Advocates hoping to legalize marijuana sales in Washington, D.C., handed out joints to City Council members on Tuesday during a rally, according to a report in The Washington Post.
Activists with the D.C. Cannabis Business Association and a group called DCMJ said they held the rally because of an increase in raids on events where people have sold various items, and then given people buying the items marijuana.
In D.C., it is legal to possess up to two ounces of marijuana, but it is not legal to sell the product. The events are largely seen as getting around the law.
“The impetus [for this rally] is that the raids have increased,” said Adam Eidinger, who was rallying. “At our biweekly meetings at public libraries, especially in Southeast and Northeast, we’ve heard about this issue more than any other issue, that people’s livelihoods are being threatened.”
Council member David Grosso (I), who has introduced a bill to let residents in the city more easily enroll in the medical marijuana program, took a joint from the activists, according to the Post. Grosso is also a registered patient in D.C.’s medical marijuana program, according to the Post.
Council member Jack Evans (D) also took a free joint.
About two dozen people took part in the rally outside the city’s municipal offices, according to the Post.
The D.C. Cannabis Business Association is pushing for the council to encourage Congress to repeal a rider that does not allow the D.C. council to pass laws that “reduce penalties” associated with marijuana and outlaws pot sales.
