The Democratic National Convention started in Philadelphia on Monday, which drove many supporters and protesters to the city to advocate for their position while Democrats begin to layout their party platform over the next few days.
One such protest caught the eye of many in Philadelphia. Marijuana advocates from DCMJ.org brought out their now-famous inflatable joint that stitches more than 51-feet. Protesters marched the giant joint through the streets on a “jaywalk” towards the Wells Fargo Center, where the convention is taking place.
To add more pizzaz to the demonstration, the joint was labeled with the words, “Berned by the DNC.” The phrase, written by Bernie Sanders supporters, is referencing the cache of leaked emails from the DNC revealing a clear bias towards Hilary Clinton.
A huge marijuana joint saying “Berned By The DNC” @BernieSanders #FeelTheBern #DemsInPhilly #DemConvention pic.twitter.com/SALbXw0i3f
— Elijah G Cohen (@Elijah_GCohen) July 25, 2016
While Sanders, and even Trump, have showed support for medical legalization. Hilary Clinton has only indicated that she would call for more research on the benefits, if elected.
The Democratic Platform Committee laid out its thoughts on marijuana reform in its platform draft earlier this month, stating:
“We believe that the states should be laboratories of democracy on the issue of marijuana, and those states that want to decriminalize marijuana should be able to do so. We support policies that will allow more research on marijuana, as well as reforming our laws to allow legal marijuana businesses to exist without uncertainty. And we recognize our current marijuana laws have had an unacceptable disparate impact, with arrest rates for marijuana possession among African Americans far outstripping arrest rates among whites, despite similar usage rates.”