Charges dropped against marijuana activist who gave out joints in front of Capitol

By Perry Stein, The Washington Post

WASHINGTON – On April 20, an unofficial holiday for marijuana users, Capitol Police arrested eight protesters for handing out marijuana joints on land near the U.S. Capitol under local jurisdiction.

Only two of those arrested were charged with a crime, and on Monday, the U.S. attorney’s office said it would drop charges against one of those protesters.

Adam Eidinger, a marijuana activist in the District of Columbia who helped spearhead the city’s legalization efforts, faced misdemeanor possession charges for allegedly carrying 78 joints that day. He spent the night in jail and made multiple court appearances in the case.

But the Drug Enforcement Administration determined that he was carrying less than two ounces – the legal limit in D.C. – and the Justice Department dropped the charges.

“To me, this means that they don’t understand that people have a right to give cannabis away in the District and they don’t have a very good legal argument to prosecute them,”…