Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
On April 20, an unofficial holiday for marijuana users, Capitol Police arrested eight protesters for handing out marijuana joints on land near the U.S. Capitol under local jurisdiction.
Only two of those arrested were charged with a crime, and on Monday, the U.S. attorney's office said it would drop charges against one of those protesters.
Adam Eidinger, a marijuana activist in the District who helped spearhead the city's legalization efforts, faced misdemeanor possession charges for allegedly carrying 78 joints that day. He spent the night in jail and made multiple court appearances in the case.
But the Drug Enforcement Administration determined that he was carrying less than two ounces – the legal limit in D.C. – and the Justice Department dropped the charges.
"To me, this means that they don't understand that people have a right to give cannabis away in the District and they don't have a very good legal argument to prosecute them," Eidinger said.
Before the April 20 demonstration, in which activists distributed joints to congressional staffers, Eidinger said he measured the marijuana to ensure that he was possessing a legal amount, then strategically placed himself on land under local jurisdiction. (The DEA weighs only the amount of cannabis, not the smoking paper it is contained in.)
Capitol Police also have jurisdiction on local land, and the agency has said that federal law applies throughout the District. It is unusual – although not unprecedented – for Capitol Police to make arrests on District grounds while applying federal laws.
"Federal laws apply throughout the District of Columbia and the federal law was applied" by the Capitol Police, wrote Eva Malecki, a spokeswoman for the federal police agency, in a June email.
Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office for the District, confirmed that charges against Eidinger were dropped, although he said the office could not comment on why local charges, instead of federal charges, were pursued.
Eidinger's attorney, Mark Goldstone, said he thinks the arrests were part of Attorney General Jeff Sessions's efforts to toughen the Justice Department's stance on marijuana. Sessions has been a vocal opponent of marijuana usage and legalization, although a Justice Department memo obtained earlier this month by HuffPost suggests that the agency is following an Obama-era document that lays out a policy of federal noninterference with state laws, as long as public health and safety are not threatened.
But the letter also includes a list of concerns compiled by federal authorities, potentially laying the groundwork for more-aggressive federal interventions in coming years.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Charges dropped against marijuana activist who gave out joints in front of Capitol - The Washington Post
Author: Perry Stein
Contact: The Washington Post
Photo Credit: Marvin Joseph
Website: Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News & Analysis - The Washington Post
Only two of those arrested were charged with a crime, and on Monday, the U.S. attorney's office said it would drop charges against one of those protesters.
Adam Eidinger, a marijuana activist in the District who helped spearhead the city's legalization efforts, faced misdemeanor possession charges for allegedly carrying 78 joints that day. He spent the night in jail and made multiple court appearances in the case.
But the Drug Enforcement Administration determined that he was carrying less than two ounces – the legal limit in D.C. – and the Justice Department dropped the charges.
"To me, this means that they don't understand that people have a right to give cannabis away in the District and they don't have a very good legal argument to prosecute them," Eidinger said.
Before the April 20 demonstration, in which activists distributed joints to congressional staffers, Eidinger said he measured the marijuana to ensure that he was possessing a legal amount, then strategically placed himself on land under local jurisdiction. (The DEA weighs only the amount of cannabis, not the smoking paper it is contained in.)
Capitol Police also have jurisdiction on local land, and the agency has said that federal law applies throughout the District. It is unusual – although not unprecedented – for Capitol Police to make arrests on District grounds while applying federal laws.
"Federal laws apply throughout the District of Columbia and the federal law was applied" by the Capitol Police, wrote Eva Malecki, a spokeswoman for the federal police agency, in a June email.
Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office for the District, confirmed that charges against Eidinger were dropped, although he said the office could not comment on why local charges, instead of federal charges, were pursued.
Eidinger's attorney, Mark Goldstone, said he thinks the arrests were part of Attorney General Jeff Sessions's efforts to toughen the Justice Department's stance on marijuana. Sessions has been a vocal opponent of marijuana usage and legalization, although a Justice Department memo obtained earlier this month by HuffPost suggests that the agency is following an Obama-era document that lays out a policy of federal noninterference with state laws, as long as public health and safety are not threatened.
But the letter also includes a list of concerns compiled by federal authorities, potentially laying the groundwork for more-aggressive federal interventions in coming years.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Charges dropped against marijuana activist who gave out joints in front of Capitol - The Washington Post
Author: Perry Stein
Contact: The Washington Post
Photo Credit: Marvin Joseph
Website: Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News & Analysis - The Washington Post
