For those familiar with pot smoking nomenclature, the rally, while not taking place on April 20, will begin at 4:20pm.
“There is a huge pent-up demand for this right now, we actually do have the support to do this,” Adam Eidinger, organizer of the D.C. Cannabis Campaign told US News. "We're calling on the whole country to come. This is a national mobilization. Some of us may end up in jail, and that’s fine. It’s actually necessary at this point.”
The same group organizing this protest was also responsible for a 2014 ballot initiative to end local penalties for minor possession and cultivation of marijuana in DC, which won. They have also organized marijuana seed giveaways in the nation’s capital.
Not all marijuana activists are pleased with the event, however.
“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,” Tom Angell, founder of Marijuana Majority, told ThinkProgress. “It also sends a message to those voters from all around the country who are visiting D.C. that legalizing means huge clouds of smoke in public parks.”
Either way, marijuana legalization is supported by the majority of the nation, with recent Gallup polling indicating that 58% of Americans support cannabis legalization for adults. Think Progress also noted that 20 states could potentially legalize some form of cannabis use in the November election.
