A D.C. Superior Court judge has officially dropped the charges against a local marijuana advocate who was busted handing out complimentary joints during a 4/20 protest.
According to a report from the DCist, Judge Shana Frost Matini dismissed the marijuana possession charges brought up against DCMJ co-founder Adam Eidinger, earlier this week, after the federal government failed to move forward with its prosecution.
Eidinger, who was integral in the campaign that legalized marijuana in the nation’s capital, was one of several people arrested during an April 20th event outside the Capitol where the group distributed free weed to Congressional staffers.
The possession of up to two ounces of marijuana is perfectly legal in the District, but it remains against the law to hold any amount whatsoever on federal land.
Although Eidinger said he was careful not to violate the language of the law, federal prosecutors attempted to nail him to the wall, offering him three months in jail for holding what they claim was slightly over the legal limit.
Ultimately, the federal charges were dropped back in August after officials with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration determined that Eidinger was actually in possession of less than two ounces of marijuana.
"Maybe I would have considered a plea deal, but not three months in jail—no way,” Eidinger said. “It's funny for [the government] to go from throwing the book at you to 'we really don't have a case to make.'"
While all of the charges against Eidinger have been dropped, the manner in which it was done gives District of Columbia Attorney General Karl A. Racine’s office a year to resurrect the charges should they choose to.
But for the time being, Eidinger is celebrating another victory.
"I'm two for two now," he said.
