DC Marijuana Justice, a group of cannabis advocates, is planning to distribute free bags of cannabis in front of COVID-19 vaccination centers around the city when the shot becomes available for the general public.
The move aims at encouraging DC residents to get vaccinated against the infectious disease that caused the pandemic.
The name of the campaign, “Joints for Jabs,” is a word play on the jab of a vaccine injection.
The group wants to call attention to “the need for further local and national cannabis reform while also advocating for equitable distribution of the critical vaccine.”
“We are looking for ways to safely celebrate the end of the pandemic and we know nothing brings people together like cannabis,” Nikolas Schiller, co-founder of DC Marijuana Justice, said in a statement.
“DCMJ believes that cannabis should be consumed safely and responsibly, and the pandemic has made this incredibly difficult for many adults to share their homegrown cannabis. When enough adults are inoculated with the coronavirus vaccine, it will be time to celebrate – not just the end of the pandemic, but the beginning of the end of cannabis prohibition in the United States,” Schiller continued.
With each user being vaccinated, it will be possible again to safely share a cannabis joint without potentially infecting anyone with COVID-19 or contracting the virus, the group states.
DC’s public vaccination sites have not been announced yet, but DC Marijuana Justice will release another statement on the locations of ‘Joints for Jabs,’ as well as their operation dates and hours.
According to DC Marijuana Justice, millions of Americans still purchase cannabis from the underground economy because of various state laws, despite the fact that cannabis dispensaries have been considered essential businesses during the pandemic.
The group, founded in 2013, is known for being behind DC’s Initiative 71, which legalized the possession and cultivation of cannabis in the District in 2014.
DC Marijuana Justice decided to postpone its plans for holding a joint giveaway at President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration next week until another inauguration event expected to take place this summer on the National Mall, because not enough citizens will be inoculated against the coronavirus by January 20.
