(via Capitol Hemp / Twitter)
Just a few weeks after staging a huge smoke-in at the White House gates, cannabis law reform advocates are getting a meeting with the Obama Administration today.
DC Marijuana Justice (DCMJ) co-founders Adam Eidinger and Nikolas Schiller, who led Washington D.C.'s successful marijuana legalization initiative in 2014, are scheduled to meet with an unnamed policy advisor this morning in the White House, according to DCMJ releases.
The goal: discuss why cannabis does not deserve to be federally designated as among the most dangerous substances on the planet.
That designation has increasingly come under fire by lawmakers, researchers, doctors and the public. About 61 percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana.
"This is an opportunity for the White House to meet with serious and committed cannabis activists and hear our case for why it's in President Obama's best interest to work with the attorney general to fully remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, " stated DCMJ communications director Schiller.
The meeting is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. today and is expected to last 30-45 minutes, and is considered groundbreaking. Members of the group Weed for Warriors, including former Paratrooper and Attorney Brandon Wyatt, will give interviews at a press conference on Pennsylvania Avenue after their meeting.
Activists' pressure appears to be mounting in the beltway. Responding to lawmkers' questions, the Drug Enforcement Administration has said it may issue a new recommendation on the scheduling of cannabis by Summer. Last week, the DEA also approved a rare trial of whole plant cannabis to treat PTSD. According to reports, Michael Botticelli, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, stressed to UN Officials last week that "law enforcement efforts should focus on criminal organizations — not on people with substance use disorders who need treatment and recovery support services."
The DEA has final approval over cannabis' "schedule 1" status — meaning they believe it has no medical use, and a high potential for abuse. About 56 percent of doctors disagree and support its full legalization, a Medscape survey found.
About 700,000 Americans will be arrested this year for cannabis crimes, while research into pot's medical value is blockaded, activists note.
"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," Eidinger said in a statement. "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."
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