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Though they still have a week left before they have turn them in, today is the last the D.C. Cannabis Campaign is collecting signatures for its ballot initiative to legalize marijuana in the District.
And with only a few hours left to collect signatures, their effort is looking successful, says Adam Eidinger, chairman of the D.C. Cannabis Campaign. Back in May, when I profiled Eidinger and the Campaign’s signature-gathering efforts, he was unsure if they’d be able to hit their goal of 22,373 signatures by July 7th, but it’s looking like they’ll surpass that number.
In a release, the Campaign says they’ve collected more than 55,000 signatures in less than 75 days. That number is more than twice what they need in order to get their initiative on the November ballot, but the problem is that many of the signatures they collect aren’t valid, either because the signer isn’t a registered D.C. voter or for various other reasons. However, Eidinger estimates that 50 to 60 percent of those 55,000 signatures are valid, putting them well over the required amount. To be sure, the Campaign is wrapping up their gathering efforts a week early to double check each signature and properly prepare the petitions for the Board of Elections.
But despite the successful effort, Eidinger is worried about ballot initiative’s future, given the recent actions taken by certain members of Congress in regards to D.C.’s marijuana laws. Specifically, the amendment Maryland Rep. Andy Harris introduced to defund the District’s marijuana decriminalization law. Eidinger isn’t so much worried than he is concerned that Congress might step in to block the legalization ballot initiative somewhere along the line, but he says they’ll certainly put up a fight.
“It’s like being at war,” Eidinger tells DCist over the phone. “I hate to compare it to war, but it’s been a struggle. You can’t let up until you think you have enough.” He says that, should Congress intervene—much like they did to block funding for D.C.’s medical marijuana law for years—he hopes the Democrats in the Senate will stand up for the city. “D.C. shouldn’t be a city of exclusion, where we exclude things that are legal in other states.”
And as for Rep. Harris, Eidinger isn’t afraid to rally people to protest his amendment, should it go any further. “If Andy Harris thinks he can stop us, he’s wrong,” Eidinger says.
