Adam Eidinger (born 1973) [1] is a Washington D.C. businessman and cannabis rights activist, known for his role in spearheading Initiative 71, which legalized cannabis in the District of Columbia in 2015.
Adam Eidinger (born 1973) [1] is a Washington D.C. businessman and cannabis rights activist, known for his role in spearheading Initiative 71, which legalized cannabis in the District of Columbia in 2015.
Eidinger was born in Pittsburgh in 1973, to a pro-union Democratic family. While at Taylor Allderdice High School, was an Eagle Scout and student council president, and successfully campaigned to have foam trays removed from the lunchroom. He attended American University, majoring in communications (1992–1996), and there organized protests against tuition increases and school president Benjamin Ladner, who was a decade later removed in 2005 for abuse of school funds. Eidinger also served on the school's debate team and cofounded the school's frisbee club, and was arrested for streaking. It was during his first year at American University that Eidinger first tried marijuana, shaping his later political actions. [2] [3]
Eidinger initially worked for Rabinowitz Media Strategies following graduation, where he was later fired for his involvement in protest against the IMF, to which some of his employer's clients happened to be tied. [2] In 2000, he founded Mintwood Media Collective, which managed publicity for Dr. Bronner's Soap; [4] [5] Mintwood was retained by Dr. Bronner's in 2001, when the Drug Enforcement Administration was attempting to prevent the importation of hemp, used in Bronner's soap. [2] Mintwood Media closed in 2013 and was reformed as Mintwood Strategies, a sole proprietorship of Eidinger. That year, Movement Media took over publicity duties for Dr. Bronner's.
Eidinger is co-owner of Capitol Hemp, a store he opened in 2008 in Adams Morgan, selling industrial hemp products such as clothing, food, and shoes. [6] The store and its Chinatown branch were raided by D.C. Metropolitan Police in October 2011 on charges of selling drug paraphernalia; police arrested Eidinger, five employees, and a customer. Eidinger and his business partner agreed to close the stores rather than lose $350,000 in confiscated merchandise and face criminal charges. [7] [8] [9] [10]
In early 2015, following the legalization of marijuana in the District, Eidinger announced his intent to reopen Capitol Hemp at an Adams Morgan location by April of that year. [11]
Eidinger has been involved in a wide range of political actions, on District and national issues; a 2014 profile by the Washington Post stated he has been arrested 15 times. [2] Key among his causes have been the marijuana and hemp politics, GMO labeling, anti-war, [12] and social justice.
Eidinger was the publicist for Vote Hemp and the Hemp Industries Association before opening Capitol Hemp. He has been a frequent speaker at Seattle Hempfest. [13] [14] He was instrumental in uncovering the diaries of USDA botanist Lyster Dewey, who grew hemp on the land that is now the Pentagon. [15] In 2009 he was arrested along with other activists for planting hemp seeds in the front lawn of the DEA headquarters in Virginia. [16]
Eidinger was President of the non-profit organization DC Patients' Cooperative, [17] which was founded in the Spring of 2010 and disbanded in 2012. He, his business partner from Capitol Hemp, and colleague Nikolas Schiller formed the non-profit organization to educate District residents about the medical cannabis law and to apply for a license open a cultivation center and dispensary. Unlike other for-profit groups vying for a license from the DC government, his non-profit organization was more concerned with patient access and affordability. [18] Over the course of the next two years, he helped organize town hall meetings [19] and press conferences [17] to educate the public and urge the District government to move forward with the long-delayed program. The DC Patients' Cooperative ultimately did not apply for a cultivation center or dispensary license because the DC government required applicants to sign a form admitting they were violating federal law. He said the organization decided it wanted nothing to do with a program "that treats us like criminals." [20]
In an interview with the Washington Post, Eidinger attributed his inspiration to legalize marijuana to his experiences in the 2011 raids on Capitol Hemp. [11] In early 2013 Eidinger formed the DCMJ organization to press for decriminalization of marijuana in the District; [21] after seeing no movement from the city council, he submitted initial paperwork for a decriminalization ballot initiative, which was rejected by the city on technical budgetary grounds. Eidinger then refined his initiative, but strengthened it to call for full legalization of marijuana. [22]
The DC Cannabis Campaign's Initiative 71 was approved by the District in April 2014, and went on to gather over 55,000 signatures by the July deadline, assuring the initiative's place on the ballot. The initiative ultimately succeeded, winning with approximately 70% of the vote in the 2014 mayoral election. When Congress attempted to block action on the initiative as part of budget negotiations in 2015, Eidinger led protests in the capital, blocking traffic on Massachusetts Avenue. [23]
Following Initiative 71's taking effect at 12:01 on 26 February 2015, Eidinger publicly smoked a joint and planted hemp seeds before a gathering of national and international press in his home, which also served as campaign headquarters. [24] [25] In March 2015, Mayor Muriel Bowser granted DC license plate number "420" to Eidinger. [26]
On 20 April 2017, Eidinger and six other activists were arrested by U.S. Capitol Police, during a public event where they handed out free cannabis cigarettes to anyone with a Congressional ID badge. [27] Less than a week later, Eidinger was arrested again by Capitol Police on 24 April, along with three other activists, during a "smoke-in" protest on Capitol Hill. [28]
In April, 2018, Eidinger rented a home in Salisbury, Maryland in order to help unseat prohibitionist congressman Andy Harris. [29]
In 2002, Eidinger, a protest leader, was among over 400 people arrested at Pershing Park during a protest against the IMF and World Bank; he was one of seven of those who in 2005 successfully sued the city for wrongful arrest, leading to a $425,000 collective settlement and changes to police procedures. [2] [30] Eidinger had previously been visited by DC police who warned him against his plans for a poster campaign in support of the IMF protests, which he alleged was intimidation. [31]
Eidinger has been active in the campaign to label foods with genetically modified ingredients. He was a lead organizer for the Right2Know March, a 300-mile march from Brooklyn to Washington, DC, which took place October 1 to October 16, 2011. [32] At Barack Obama's second inauguration he worked with the activist group Occupy Monsanto to distribute 50 pounds of organic carrots in order to remind the president about his pledge to label genetically modified foods. [33] In the summer of 2013, he organized a nationwide tour of art cars with giant transgenic fish sculptures attached to the roof. [34] The car Fishy Sugar Beet ultimately won Car Talk's World Ugliest Car award. [35]
Eidinger has been vocal critic of the Monsanto Company and purchased 75 shares to facilitate shareholder activism. [36] In the summer of 2013, he submitted a shareholder resolution written by his colleague Nikolas Schiller, which requested the company issue a report on GMO labeling and the inclusion of Monsanto's patent numbers on food labels. [37] At the 2014 Monsanto shareholder meeting, while his shareholder resolution was being discussed, Eidinger and other activists from Occupy Monsanto blockaded the entrance to Monsanto's campus with the art cars and was arrested. [38] [39] The shareholder resolution ultimately failed, receiving 4.16% of the votes. [40]
During the 2013 government shutdown, he joined activists from Occupy Monsanto and visited the offices of various members of Congress to distribute the fictitious Monsanto Minion Awards. After the awards were distributed, he joined activists who dumped $2,000 from the balcony of the Hart Senate Office Building and was arrested. [2] [41]
In 2002 and 2004 he ran as the DC Statehood Green Party candidate for the District of Columbia's Shadow Representative, which is an unpaid position that lobbies Congress to support DC statehood. In 2002 he received 13.9% of the vote [42] and in 2004 he received 12.8% of the vote. [43]
Eidinger's other protest activities include coordinating the Justice Action Movement in a protest of the inauguration of George W. Bush in 2001, [44] and protests against the District's deal to build a new stadium for the Washington Nationals, where he jumped onto the stage during a press event to announce the team's new name and logo, and seized a microphone to shout "this is a bad deal, people" before being tackled. [45] [46] [47]
420, 4:20 or 4/20 is cannabis culture slang for marijuana and hashish consumption, especially smoking around the time 4:20 pm (16:20). It also refers to cannabis-oriented celebrations that take place annually on April 20.
Seattle Hempfest is an annual event in the city of Seattle, Washington advocating the legalization of cannabis. Vivian McPeak serves as the organization's executive director. Founded in 1991 as the Washington Hemp Expo, a self-described "humble gathering of stoners" attended by only 500 people, and renamed the following year as Hempfest, it has grown into a three-day annual political rally, concert, and arts and crafts fair with attendance typically over 100,000. Speakers have included Seattle city council member Nick Licata, actor/activist Woody Harrelson (2004), travel writer and TV host Rick Steves (2007), (2010), 2012 Green Party speaker Jill Stein, Dallas Cowboys center Mark Stepnoski (2003), and former chief of the Seattle Police Department Norm Stamper (2006). Hempfest has also in recent years attracted such well-known performers as Fishbone (2002), The Kottonmouth Kings (2004), Rehab (2006), and Pato Banton (2007) to its five stages spread throughout Myrtle Edwards Park and Elliott Bay Park, on Seattle's waterfront.
Marc Scott Emery is a Canadian cannabis rights activist, entrepreneur and politician. Often described as the "Prince of Pot", Emery has been a notable advocate of international cannabis policy reform, and has been active in multiple Canadian political parties at the provincial and federal levels. Emery has been jailed several times for his cannabis activism.
Rob Kampia is an American activist who is the co-founder of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), co-founder of Decriminalize Sex Work (DSW), and founder of the Marijuana Leadership Campaign.
Cannabis Culture is a Canadian online magazine and former print magazine devoted to cannabis and the worldwide cannabis culture. Cannabis Culture publishes stories about the struggle to legalize marijuana, profiles of marijuana paraphernalia, articles on how to grow marijuana, interviews with prominent marijuana users, and coverage of cannabis cultural events like the Nimbin MardiGrass festival and the High Times Cannabis Cup.
In the United States, increased restrictions and labeling of cannabis as a poison began in many states from 1906 onward, and outright prohibitions began in the 1920s. By the mid-1930s cannabis was regulated as a drug in every state, including 35 states that adopted the Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act. The first national regulation was the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937.
Nikolas Schiller is an American blogger and drug policy reform activist who lives in Washington, DC. He is primarily known for developing Geospatial Art, which is the name he gave to his collection of abstract fantasy maps created from kaleidoscopic aerial photographs, and co-founding DCMJ, where he helped write Initiative 71, which legalized the cultivation and possession of small amounts of cannabis in the nation's capital.
David Bronner is an American corporate executive and activist. As the top executive at Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, he has become known for his activism around a range of issues, especially fair trade, sustainable agriculture, animal rights, and drug policy reform.
The legal history of cannabis in the United States began with state-level prohibition in the early 20th century, with the first major federal limitations occurring in 1937. Starting with Oregon in 1973, individual states began to liberalize cannabis laws through decriminalization. In 1996, California became the first state to legalize medical cannabis, sparking a trend that spread to a majority of states by 2016. In 2012, Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize cannabis for recreational use.
Initiative 71 was a voter-approved ballot measure in Washington, D.C., that legalized the recreational use of cannabis. The short title of the initiative was "Legalization of Possession of Minimal Amounts of Marijuana for Personal Use Act of 2014". The measure was approved by 64.87% of voters on November 4, 2014 and went into full effect on February 26, 2015.
Initiative 59 was a 1998 ballot initiative in Washington, D.C., that sought to legalize medical cannabis. The short title of the initiative was "Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1998". Though the initiative passed with 69% of the vote in November 1998, its implementation was delayed by Congress's passage of the Barr Amendment, which prohibited DC from using its funds in support of the program. This Amendment delayed the start of the medical marijuana program until it was effectively overturned in 2009, with the first DC customer legally purchasing medical cannabis at a dispensary in the District in 2013.
Paul Stanford is the founder of The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation (THCF), THCF Medical Clinics, and the Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp (CRRH).
Cannabis in Texas is illegal for recreational use. Possession of up to two ounces is a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in prison and a fine of up to $2000. Several of the state's major municipalities have enacted reforms to apply lesser penalties or limit enforcement, however.
Cannabis in Washington relates to a number of legislative, legal, and cultural events surrounding the use of cannabis. On December 6, 2012, Washington became the first U.S. state to legalize recreational use of marijuana and the first to allow recreational marijuana sales, alongside Colorado. The state had previously legalized medical marijuana in 1998. Under state law, cannabis is legal for medical purposes and for any purpose by adults over 21.
In Washington, D.C., cannabis is legal for both medical use and recreational use for possession, personal use, cultivation, transportation and gifting, and for retail sale once a regulatory system is implemented following an affirmative vote by the residents on a 2014 ballot initiative. The United States Congress exercises oversight over the government of the District of Columbia, preventing the local government from regulating cannabis sales like other jurisdictions with authority derived from a U.S. state.
Two Is Enough D.C. was the main opposition campaign to Initiative 71, which succeeded in legalizing cannabis in the District of Columbia by ballot initiative in 2014. The campaign was announced in September 2014 by DC resident Will Jones III, at a news conference featuring former Senator Patrick Kennedy, founder of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. At the event, Jones publicly invited pro-71 activist Adam Eidinger to a public debate on the issue. In response to questions as to why the campaign was beginning less than two months before the election, Jones stated "We should have organized earlier... but it's better to start late than never.
Terms related to cannabis include:
Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps is an American producer of organic soap and personal care products headquartered in Vista, California. The company was founded in the late 1940s by Emanuel Bronner and continues to be run by members of the Bronner family. The company's products are known for their text-heavy labels and the variety of their advertised uses for a single product. The company's 2017 annual revenue was $120 million.
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