Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the White House to smoke marijuana this weekend, calling on the government to legalize the drug.
Protesters carried a 51-foot inflatable 'joint' and 'sparked up' Saturday promptly at 4:20p.m., asking President Barack Obama to remove cannabis from the “Schedule 1” list of controlled substances, which also includes harder drugs such as heroin.
One activist said thousands who have been arrested for possession of the drug should also be pardoned.
“What we want here today is Obama, through the stroke of a pen, through executive order to deschedule marijuana, then we want that deschedulization to pardon those arrested for marijuana and we want 50 states to recognize the medical use of marijuana,” he told Ruptly.
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Smoking marijuana in public is still illegal in Washington, DC, but possession of up to two ounces is legal.
Despite this, African-Americans are often routinely targeted and racially profiled by police for possession of pot.
Obama’s cannabis smoking days with his “Choom gang” might be over, but his crackdown on those using it for medicinal purposes has been a real 'bummer, man.'
There were over 100 raids on marijuana dispensaries during his first three years in office.
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In California where using medical cannabis is legal, Obama’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was told to back down from raiding pot dispensaries by a federal court.
The ruling followed the case of Lynette Shaw, who was forced to close her business for four years, despite not breaking the law.