Weed At The Inauguration: Free Drugs Will Be Given To Smokers During Trump's Ceremony

People attending the inauguration may find themselves catching a contact high when thousands of people start smoking joints at the National Mall while President-Elect Donald Trump takes his oath of office on Jan. 20. The DC Cannabis Coalition will host a protest at the inauguration, during which members of the organization will reportedly pass out thousands of marijuana joints for free.

During the protest, 4,200 joints will be sparked and smoked 4 minutes and 20 seconds into Trump’s speech at the National Mall, which is technically illegal because marijuana use on federal property is not allowed in the District.

Recreational pot use was made legal in D.C. after voters passed Initiative 71, a measure legalizing marijuana possession of two ounces or less and authorizing adults to grow it and give it away in 2014. The sale of cannabis is still prohibited in the U.S. capitol city.

"We are going to tell them that if they smoke on federal property, they are risking arrest. But, that's a form of civil disobedience," said Adam Eidinger, founder of DCMJ, a group who helped bring Initiative 71 into existence in D.C. "I think it's a good protest. If someone wants to do it, they are risking arrest, but it's a protest and you know what, the National Mall is a place for protest."

Organizers are hoping that the protest will help generate more support for legal marijuana use at the federal level, especially since Trump’s transition will also potentially bring his attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions into power.

Sessions has made it pretty clear that he is no friend of the marijuana community. He’s made an array of negative comments about cannabis, including statements like “good people don’t smoke marijuana” and pot is “not the kind of thing that ought to be legalized.” Protesters are worried that as the new AG, Sessions could implement even harsher restrictions on marijuana at the federal level following Trump’s inaugural ceremony.

“We are looking at a guy who as recently as April said that they are going to enforce federal law on marijuana all over the country. He said marijuana is dangerous,” Eidinger said.

Everyone attending the inauguration is welcome to participate in the protest, which Eidinger assured local media was not an anti-Trump protest or an attempt to disrupt the new president’s ceremony.

Group officials will begin passing out joints at 8 a.m. on the west side of Dupoint Circle, a legal smoking area in D.C., after which participants will march to the National Mall and begin the protest. For more information on the DC Cannabis Coalition’s protest, check out the event's Facebook page.