--- title: Marijuana Activists Arrested for Giving Out Free Joints description: Seven marijuana activists were arrested in Washington, D.C. on Thursday while they were handing out free joints to Capitol Hill staffers canonical: https://time.com/4749642/marijuana-activists-arrested-washington-dc-420/ author: Abigail Abrams article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-20T22:12:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T10:54:46.675Z article:section: Politics og:title: Marijuana Activists Arrested Near U.S. Capitol While Giving Out Free Joints on 4/20 og:description: Capitol police cited federal law when making the arrests og:url: https://time.com/4749642/marijuana-activists-arrested-washington-dc-420/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta2ab09fe7350d75f/6988c3db2dce010fe09ed25a/dcmj-marijuana-activists-arrested-washington-dc-capitol-police.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Pot Giveaway og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Marijuana Activists Arrested Near U.S. Capitol While Giving Out Free Joints on 4/20 twitter:description: Capitol police cited federal law when making the arrests twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta2ab09fe7350d75f/6988c3db2dce010fe09ed25a/dcmj-marijuana-activists-arrested-washington-dc-capitol-police.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Marijuana Activists Arrested Near U.S. Capitol While Giving Out Free Joints on 4/20 > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Apr 20, 2017 10:12 PM UTC  Rachel Ramone Donlan is arrested after handing out joints during 1st Annual Congressional #JointSession pot giveaway to credentialed Hill staff and the media at Constitution Ave. and First St. NE on April 20, 2017. Rachel Ramone Donlan is arrested after handing out joints during 1st Annual Congressional #JointSession pot giveaway to credentialed Hill staff and the media at Constitution Ave. and First St. NE on April 20, 2017. Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call, Inc./Getty Images by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Apr 20, 2017 10:12 PM UTC Seven marijuana activists were arrested in Washington, D.C. on Thursday while they were [handing out free joints](http://time.com/4748212/marijuana-free-joints-congress/) to Capitol Hill staffers as part of a campaign to push for laws that would allow D.C. to regulate marijuana. Three of the activists were charged with possession with intent to distribute, the [Capitol police said](https://www.uscp.gov/media-center/press-releases/us-capitol-police-arrest-seven-possession-marijuana), while four other people were charged with possession. It is legal to possess, grow and give away small amounts of marijuana in the nation’s capitol, but it is illegal to do so under federal law. The activists, who are members of marijuana advocacy group DCMJ, had organized an event called the “Congressional Joint Session” in honor of 4/20 to encourage Congress to end cannabis prohibition and allow D.C. to change its marijuana laws. Members of the group [told _DCist_](http://time.com/4748212/marijuana-free-joints-congress/) they chose the location of their demonstration — the corner of 1st Street and Constitution Avenue Northeast — because it is located near the Capitol building but is not federal land. The arrests put an early end to the [Congressional Joint Session](http://time.com/4748212/marijuana-free-joints-congress/), which had aimed to give out at least 1,000 joints. U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement that officers began arresting people around 12:15 p.m. after “after witnessing them distributing marijuana in public view to passersby.” DMCJ has previously given weed away in public in D.C., including [on Inauguration Day](http://time.com/4638369/free-weed-marijuana-dcmj-inauguration/?iid=sr-link1), when the group gave out thousands of joints without any arrests, according to DCist_._ Next week, DCMJ plans to smoke on the Capitol steps to push lawmakers to get rid of federal prohibitions on cannabis. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4749642/marijuana-activists-arrested-washington-dc-420/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4749642/marijuana-activists-arrested-washington-dc-420/"},"headline":"Marijuana Activists Arrested Near U.S. Capitol While Giving Out Free Joints on 4/20","datePublished":"2017-04-20T22:12:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T10:54:46.675Z","description":"Capitol police cited federal law when making the arrests","url":"https://time.com/4749642/marijuana-activists-arrested-washington-dc-420/","keywords":["Marijuana","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta2ab09fe7350d75f/6988c3db2dce010fe09ed25a/dcmj-marijuana-activists-arrested-washington-dc-capitol-police.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Abigail Abrams","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta2ab09fe7350d75f/6988c3db2dce010fe09ed25a/dcmj-marijuana-activists-arrested-washington-dc-capitol-police.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pot Giveaway","caption":"Pot Giveaway","creditText":"Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call, Inc./Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/marijuana/","name":"Marijuana"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4749642/marijuana-activists-arrested-washington-dc-420/","name":"Marijuana Activists Arrested Near U.S. Capitol While Giving Out Free Joints on 4/20"}}]}] ```