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Visitor Bridgette King at the Joints for Jabs event in New York
Photo: Mark Lennihan / AP
Around three weeks after the New York State Parliament paved the way for the legalization of marijuana, activists distributed free joints to people vaccinated against corona.
Dozens of people lined up in Union Square in Manhattan on Tuesday to get the free cannabis.
The activists gave the campaign the title "Joints for Jabs", or "Joints for Vaccinations" in German.
"It's the first time we've been able to sit here and legally distribute joints to people," co-organizer Michael O'Malley told AFP.
»We support vaccination efforts at the federal level.
But we're also trying to get them to legalize weed nationwide. "
Volunteers rolled around 1,500 joints before the start of the campaign.
The demand was great - almost half of all New Yorkers over the age of 18 have already received at least one dose of vaccine.
38-year-old Sarah Overholt came with her 70-year-old mother, showed both vaccination cards and picked up two joints.
"I smoke every day," said Overholt, "and I'm a better person when I smoke, believe me."
At the end of March, after years of controversy, the New York Parliament paved the way for the legalization of marijuana - and brought New York on its way to the 15th US state, which allows marijuana for free use from the age of 21.
ala / dpa
