Adam Eidinger, the activist behind the Washington D.C smoke-in, will meet with White House officials for a “Bud Summit” on Monday, where they will likely discuss changing marijuana’s Schedule 1 status.
The White House confirmed the meeting after Eidinger’s group, DCMJ, announced it via press release, The Washington Post reports.
It appears the smoke-in — during which activists carried a 51-foot replica joint adorned with the phrase “Obama, Deschedule Cannabis Now!” and lit up publicly — caught the attention of officials. Eidinger had previously written letters asking for a meeting but had not received any response.
It is not clear if Eidinger, along with a small group of advocates, will meet with Obama’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, and he declined to comment on who exactly had invited him. Obama’s drug policy advisors have met with other national pro-cannabis groups.
“As a former cannabis (and current?) user, you know firsthand that cannabis does not belong in the Controlled Substances Act,” Eidinger wrote in a letter addressed to the president last month.
Marijuana remains federally prohibited despite its legalized status in Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Washington, D.C. It shares the Schedule 1 distinction with heroin and ecstasy. While it is legal for medicinal use in 24 states, it remains hard to research due to its federal status.