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| On the courthouse steps |
December 8 – Cannabis advocates handed out free marijuana to grateful recipients on the Contra Costa County Courthouse steps today in protest of the county’s lack of legal, affordable dispensaries.
Organizers, including Contra Costa County NORML and PotPride.com, took advantage of California’s legalization law, which makes it legal to possess and give away up to one ounce of cannabis (or 8 grams of concentrate) to adults over 21.
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| Santa helps himself to a gift |
The handout attracted a few score of appreciative locals, who lined up to help themselves to free samples of marijuana, canna-caps, edibles, seeds, and topicals, while carefully observing the law’s ban on public smoking of marijuana.
The action was intended to make four points:
(1) The sharing of cannabis is a longstanding consumer tradition.
(2) Contra Costa County has adopted a steep tax plan, yet hasn’t licensed cannabis retail sales.
(3) State law wrongly hampers licensed providers from giving away medical marijuana free of charge to indigent patients though “compassion programs.”
(4) It is legal in California to grow cannabis at home and share it.
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| Dale G. gives away homegrown to a needy consumer (Ed R.) |
The giveaway proceeded peacefully and without a hitch under the watchful eye of Cal NORML defense attorney Bill Panzer. No police showed, possibly because they were busy with the Santa Beer Crawl in Martinez that day.
“What a perfect way to celebrate the spirit of cannabis and the holiday season,” commented Cal NORML director Dale Gieringer.
