Cannabis activists hold a “smoke out” to protest Brittney Griner’s detainment

In a Thursday “smoke out” outside the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., cannabis activists protested the continued detention of out WNBA star Brittney Griner.

Griner recently lost her appeal and is currently sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison for possessing less than a gram of cannabis oil in two vape cartridges.

The “smoke out” was hosted by DC Marijuana Justice co-founder Adam Eidinger, who told The Washington Post, “Just as it’s unacceptable for Americans to sit behind bars for simple possession of cannabis, it’s absolutely unacceptable for an American sitting in a Russian gulag.”

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Eidinger also said Russian President Vladimir Putin is “clearly using an American citizen as a pawn in his war against Ukraine.”

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“We want Brittany released and free of the sham charges that Putin imposed on her as his failed invasion of Ukraine backfired and he elevated Russia to the status of most dangerous rogue nation on the planet,” Edinger said in a separate statement, adding that “cannabis is a medical and personal choice for adults in America, no matter the party, gender, religion or race. Putin hates freedom, but that’s exactly what we want to give him, a freedom toke.”

The protest began at 4:20 p.m. and included marijuana smoking and a 51-foot inflatable joint that declared in Russian, “Free Brittney Griner and the Russians from Putin and free 420 prisoners.”

We’re outside the Russian Embassy with our 51 ft joint that reads in Russian #freebrittneygriner and the Russians from Putin & #free420prisoners pic.twitter.com/HiHJHaldZp

— DC Marijuana Justice