Activists are staging a protest outside of the White House on Monday, with plans to engage in civil disobedience to call attention to President Joe Biden’s yet unfulfilled promise to release people incarcerated over marijuana.
Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), the Last Prisoner Project (LPP), DCMJ and other groups organized the the protests, which involved call-and-response chants and speeches from advocates and formally incarcerated people.
Biden’s own comments supporting decriminalization were played over a loudspeaker on repeat and activists carried a massive inflatable joint down the streets of Washington, D.C.
Activists also said they will block an entrance to the Old Executive Office Building, where many White House staffers work, until their demands are met or they are arrested.
The action was planned before Biden made a surprise announcement this month, pardoning about 6,500 people who’ve committed federal marijuana possession offenses, as well as those who’ve violated the law in Washington, D.C. The president also directed an administrative review of cannabis scheduling.
But by Biden’s own admission, the clemency resulted in zero instances where people are being released from prison over marijuana crimes. Activists said that lack of relief despite Biden’s stated position that nobody should be in jail
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