The American people have in recent times expressed an undivided interest in the federal legalization of marijuana across the national landscape. In a bid to campaign for their civic rights, the interested organizations have called for protests on the day Donald J. Trump was inaugurated as the president of the United States (Alter, 2017). DCMJ, an organization based in Washington DC was at the forefront in organizing the protests aimed at pressurizing the Congress to reconsider the amendment by Rohrabacher-Farr, which seeks to prohibit the Justice Department and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) from stepping in to interfere with the marijuana laws (DMCJ, 2017).
Inviting marijuana users and supporting protesters, the advocacy group intimated that theirs was not an anti- Trump campaign but a bid to bring together like-minded individuals who identify with their cause (Buncombe, 2017). The participants were handed a free roll of marijuana each which they were going to light up and smoke publicly to send a message that the American people were for the legalization. To make it w memorable event, DCMJ had prepared more than five thousand rolls to hand out. Eventually, the air was filled with marijuana smoke as protestors highlighted the large numbers that are affected by the oppressive law. The target group was adults who are above the age of twenty-one.
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The protests were supposed to allow the use of the drug both for medical purposes and for recreation. The advocates observed that marijuana as a plant was useful to humans in the various uses that had proved there is nothing wrong with the drug (Drug Policy Alliance, n.d.). They pointed out that there has been no documented harm in the use of marijuana in both uses. As a fact, marijuana has been used in the medical fields to cure and treat diseases where other drugs had failed. In this light, efforts by the authorities to counter its use are hurting the users and also the American economy since a lot of funds are being dedicated to DEA’s fight against cannabis.
It has been noted that there has been high support for legalization if the new reports by the General Social Survey are anything to go by. Interviewees from across the political divide indicated that most people no longer find cannabis as a threat irrespective of their political affiliations (Williams, 2017). The Democrats, Republicans, and Independents all support the use and look down the criminalization of the drug as an oppression of the people involved. The protests were inspired by the Colorado lawmakers who decided to exclude marijuana from being classified as Schedule 1 drug, allowing its use and regulation similar to alcohol.
A particular point of interest by the protestors was recently appointed Attorney General. The Alabama Senator, Jeff Sessions, has been at the forefront in the condemnation of marijuana use and insists that attempts to fight for legalization should be resisted. He is also adamant to lobby for the reduction of drug sentences. The organizers thus saw their cause as a political war intimating that the government has no respect for their movement and their business interests associated with marijuana (Simpsons, 2017).
Indeed, the protests are a strong political message tot eh Trump government that it should not seek to reverse the amendments that create a fairer ground for the community interested in marijuana use. By drawing large crowds to the streets, the movement makes it clear that marijuana use is the order of the day in modern America. It would also serve to inform the Trump administration that he should not involve adamant lawmakers whose views are outdated and hypocritical towards the feelings of the many Americans involved.
References
Alter, C. (2017, January 18). D.C. weed group has rolled 5,500 free joints for the inauguration. Time. Retrieved from http://time.com/4638369/free-weed-marijuana-dcmj-inauguration/
Buncombe, A. (2017, January 20). Inauguration: Pro-Marijuana activists hand out 4,200 free joints to Anti-Donald Trump protestes. Independent. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/inauguration-donald-trump-pro-marijuana-free-joints-4200-anti-donald-trump-protesters-cannabis-a7537661.html
DCMJ (2017, April 5). 1 st annual congressional joint session on 4/20. DCMJ.ORG. Retrieved from http://dcmj.org/
Drug Policy Alliance (n.d.). Marijuana legalization and regulation. Drugpolicy.org. Retrieved from http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana-legalization-and-regulation
Simpson, I. (2017, January 9). Washington pot protesters have wary eye on Trump’s attorney general pick. Reuters. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-sessions-marijuana-idUSKBN14T2A2
Williams, J. (2017, March 4). More Americans want marijuana: voters across all party lines support legalizing weed. Newsweek. Retrieved from http://www.newsweek.com/marijuana-legalization-legal-states-poll-578502
