DC Marijuana Justice (DCMJ) says it will distribute free bags of cannabis to people who receive a coronavirus vaccine at certain Washington, D.C. locations. The campaign, called "Joints for Jabs," is set to begin as soon as vaccines are available to the general public, according to a DCMJ press release. Both medical and recreational marijuana use is legal in the District, and DCMJ does not expect legal trouble for the giveaway, Motherboard reported.
The group's goals are twofold: encourage more people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and recruit recipients into the push for federal marijuana legalization. "I want people to get the shots and to know they are appreciated for doing so," DCMJ co-founder Adam Eidinger told Motherboard. "We also see the vaccination center as a place for education and outreach as well as to mobilize people to let lawmakers know they want to protect and even expand home grow rights in the District and to allow adults to buy and sell cannabis."
Eidinger added that the group also seeks to end what he described as intense policing of Black communities, which he said remains connected to marijuana enforcement. Along with the free cannabis, DCMJ will distribute cards with information on how people can call their representatives to advocate for legal cannabis.
Nikolas Schiller, DCMJ's other co-founder, framed the effort as a way to mark the pandemic's end. "We are looking for ways to safely celebrate the end of the pandemic," Schiller said in the press release, "and we know nothing brings people together like cannabis."
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