When Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) first started trying to overturn D.C.’s marijuana laws last year, then-Mayor Vincent C. Gray urged residents to boycott Harris’s home district, which includes the popular vacation spot Ocean City.
Daniel Lewis, who graduated from Georgetown Day School this year, started DisruptDC with a friend and his sister, Tessa, after they saw the pro-statehood segment on Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight” earlier this month.
The newly formed student advocacy organization met with D.C. activist-in-chief, Adam Eidinger, and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton earlier this week to talk statehood. Eidinger, the former chair of the DC Cannabis Campaign who helped lead the fight to legalize marijuana in the city, later offered up advice as they planned the event to Ocean City next Wednesday.
“We got the ball rolling and we’re really excited,” said Lewis, 18, adding that he learned more about D.C.’s lack of statehood from the Oliver segment. “I had always felt it as a mild nuisance, but it never really got me angry before.”
Eidinger said he’s hoping the teenagers can recruit at least a couple of dozen people to make the day trip to Ocean City. Once they arrive, they’ll set up pro-statehood signs, talk to beach-goers and hand out fliers explaining statehood, advising people to call Harris’s office if they want D.C. to become a state.
“I think high school energy is needed to keep the movement vibrant,” Eidinger said. “Once you realize [D.C.’s lack of statehood] is an injustice, become a statehood activists and link it to whatever you care about.”
Those interested in attending should meet at Freedom Plaza at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday and fill out this form if you need a ride. The Facebook page for the event says Harris is not invited.