WASHINGTON — Marijuana advocates in Washington, D.C., are planning to thank people who receive the coronavirus vaccine by giving them free bags of weed. 

DC Marijuana Justice announced its plans last week, calling the initiative “Joints for Jabs.” The group, which was a driving force behind legalizing pot in Washington in 2015, said homegrowers still distribute free baggies of cannabis outside yet-to-be named vaccination centers as soon as the general public can be inoculated. 

The group says it also hopes to highlight what it believes are needed reforms in marijuana laws, including legalizing it on the federal level. 

“We are looking for ways to safely celebrate the end of the pandemic and we know nothing brings people together like cannabis,” DCMJ co-founder Nikolas Schiller said in a news release. “DCMJ believes that cannabis should be consumed safely and responsibly, and the pandemic has made this incredibly difficult for many adults to share their homegrown cannabis. When enough adults are inoculated with the coronavirus vaccine, it will be time to celebrate – not just the end of the pandemic, but the beginning of the end of cannabis prohibition in the United States.”

DCMJ noted that in order for people to safely share a joint, they each must be vaccinated. 

Adam Eidinger, another co-founder of the group, told the website DCist that homegrowers have already pledged 3 pounds of marijuana for the giveaway. DCMJ hopes to have 5 pounds in all to hand out.

The group distributed more than 10,000 joints at President Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2017 but could not do something similar for Joe Biden because of coronavirus concerns. 

Eidinger said DCMJ learned a lesson at Trump’s inauguration and is now shifting to giving out loose marijuana rather than pre-rolled joints because people tended to light up on-site, violating city law.