Just in time for spring planting, hundreds of marijuana lovers in the nation’s capital marked passage of the city’s new pot legalization law Thursday night by getting free seeds at a neighborhood eatery only 10 minutes from the White House.
“I didn’t think I would ever be alive to see something like this happening,” said Holly Dixon, 42, an information technology support specialist from Washington who showed up two hours early to be first in line for the giveaway. She said she grew marijuana when she lived in Atlanta and was eager to try it again. “I kind of know the process.”
Inside the Libertine bar and restaurant, Alan Amsterdam, 47, who was filling small plastic bags with two pot seeds each, marveled that he was distributing seeds for a drug that remains illegal under federal law.
“It’s incredible,” he said. “I am here to spread seeds to the people. If you had told me five years ago – three years ago – that I would be sitting in a bar in Washington, D.C., handing out cannabis seeds I would have laughed at you.”
The city’s new law, approved by voters in November, took effect Feb. 26. It allows city residents to possess up to two ounces of marijuana and to grow six plants, only three of which can be mature.
No one can buy or sell marijuana for recreational use, unlike laws that took effect in Colorado and Washington state last year. But the law allows residents to share some of their stash, including seeds. As a result, no one could buy seeds at the exchange, only “share” them.
Organizers said more than 2,000 people signed up to attend the event at the restaurant on 18th Street Northwest in the Adams Morgan neighborhood. As police officers watched, a line weaved its way all the way down the block.
“It’s definitely worth the wait, even though I have no clue how to grow them,” said Richard Burns, 27, a food server in the hospitality industry. “I want to learn. There was no way in the world I was going to miss this. . . . I mean, I’ve never seen marijuana seeds ever before.”
Burns, who recently moved here from Michigan, said he was excited because he had smoked marijuana for the first time in Washington only two years ago. “It helped me tune into, like, the deeper side of thinking,” he said. “It helped relax me.”
Amsterdam, who lives in Washington and owns a water pipe and tobacco accessory store in nearby Silver Spring, Md., offered some tips for the novices, explaining that his seeds were an indica strain.
“It’s a body high, as opposed to a head high,” he said.
Adam Eidinger, who headed the seed exchange and the D.C. Cannabis Campaign drive that led to the November referendum, offered his own advice to the new gardeners.
“Use the sun, it’s free,” he said. “Use the rain, it’s free. We don’t have to make our power bills go up in this town because we’re growing cannabis indoors. . . . Peace everybody, peace.”
Organizers said there was cause to celebrate, with neither the Obama administration nor Congress showing much interest in blocking the city law by enforcing the federal law that makes marijuana possession a felony crime.
In 2013, the Justice Department gave permission to both Washington state and Colorado, saying they could proceed with their legalization plans as long as they do a good job policing themselves.
“Although the District of Columbia is not a state, we hope they would extend the same courtesy to Washington, D.C.,” Amsterdam said.
While Congress has the final say in D.C. budgetary matters, Eidinger said the possibility of federal intervention “doesn’t keep me up at night as much as it used to.” Last month, Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser should be arrested for allowing the city law to take effect, but the congressman appears to be having a hard time convincing his colleagues.
“I feel like Congress doesn’t really want to be known for overturning an election,” Eidinger said.
Eidinger has emerged as something of a hero in the city. Next month, he’ll get a license plate with the number “420” – code for marijuana – as a gift from Bowser, who became mayor in January. He said he’ll display it on his 2015 Jeep Wrangler.
“It’s like a merit badge,” Eidinger said. “It makes me happy just thinking about the whole gesture. It’s just so beautiful.”
The closest thing to a protest came from Saiju Gangadharan, 43, of Washington, who showed up in a cow costume. You had to read his sign carefully to get his point: “Say no to pot (roast). Go vegan.”
“We’re trying to educate people about not eating meat,” he said. “I even got a hug.”
Mellow Mushroom, a pizzeria across the street, handed out free cheese pizza to those who waited in line.
“It’s the best place to be,” said Stephen Garcia, a waiter from the restaurant who handed out the slices. “Stoners love pizza.”
Another seed exchange is planned for Saturday at the D.C. Cannabis Campaign headquarters at 2448 Massachusetts Ave. NW. It will begin at 4:20 p.m.
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