The syncopated beats of go-go music cut through air Saturday at the first National Cannabis Festival, mixing with chatter about medical marijuana, legalization efforts and hydroponics along with which strain of marijuana strain will give you the best high.

Held at the grounds outside RFK Stadium in D.C., the festival attracted thousands of marijuana activists, criminal justice reform advocates and stoners alike. And though a laid-back, party atmosphere permeated the event, much of the conversation went a lot deeper.

“There’s a lot of knowledge about cannabis here,” said Bobby Porter, who traveled from northern Delaware, where marijuana possession has been decriminalized. “People here have so much insight in some many different areas.”

Adam Eidinger had been sending letters to the White House asking for a meeting since he led a successful ballot measure fight to legalize pot in the nation’s capital.

The letters asked for a “Bud Summit” with President Obama’s drug policy advisers to talk about removing pot from the nation’s list of most dangerous drugs.

This year alone there have already been more than 50 legislative initiatives around the country aimed at legalizing or decriminalizing medical or recreational marijuana. 

Medical marijuana programs are gaining momentum across the country. Yet, while Pennsylvania just became the twenty-fourth state with a comprehensive medical marijuana program, the District of Columbia is working to roll back patients' rights and criminalize consumption.

High Speed Delivery charges customers in Washington, D.C., $11 for 15 ounces of orange juice, which seems like a lot even if it’s delivered to your door within 20 minutes. But for another $44, you canexpect an eighth-ounce of marijuana along with your juice, which is not bad for a city where it’s still illegal to sell the stuff.

You could do better in Denver, but D.C. is not Denver. Unlike Colorado’s Amendment 64, the 2012 ballot measure that legalized commercial production and distribution of recreational marijuana, the District’s Initiative 71, passed in 2014, legalized only home cultivation, possession, and sharing “without remuneration.”

From Maine to Miami, supporters of the cannabis movement are going to pass a torch symbolically shaped as a joint to garner support and show a united front in the fight to legalize marijuana.

It’s organized by the East Coast Cannabis Coalition (ECCC) and the so-called Unity Cypher begins its journey in Portland, Maine on April 14th, making  stops in NH, CT, NY, NJ, PA, DE, ME, DC, VA, NC, SC, GA, and FL. Along the way, organizers promise an appearance (and great photo op) at the United National General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) in New York City on April 19 and the National Cannabis Festival in Washington D.C. on April 23.

While Congress has prevented the District of Columbia from opening retail pot shops in the nation’s capital, a ruling handed down last month by a D.C. Superior Court judge allows District lawmakers to begin discussing the concept of recreational pot sales at the end of September.

Several weeks ago, Judge Brian Holeman delivered a historical verdict that upholds the District’s Local Budget Autonomy Act — passed in 2013 by 82 percent of the voters — allowing the local government to have complete control over their financial agenda.

We receive a lot of inquiries (and some complaints) at NORML from those who favor legalization and wonder why we continue to focus on a state-based strategy instead of focusing on Congress. The belief is that Congress could legalize marijuana in one fell swoop if they wanted to do so.

It’s a reasonable question, but there are valid reasons for the current strategy.

Congress Is Not Yet In Play

Former New Mexico Gov. and 2016 Libertarian White House hopeful Gary Johnson says he thinks President Obama is going to remove marijuana from the government’s “Schedule I” list of narcotics considered particularly harmful and addictive on his way out of office.

“It’s going to be just like alcohol,” Mr. Johnson told The Washington Times Tuesday. “I’m going to predict that Obama, when he leaves office, is going to deschedule marijuana as a Class I narcotic. I wish he would have done that to this point, but I think he’s going to do that going out the door. That’s a positive.”