A cloud of marijuana smoke may waft over the White House on April 20 as formerly cautious reformers lash out against pot use restrictions passed by the D.C. Council.

The council unanimously approved emergency legislation Tuesday from Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, that imposes severe penalties on companies that allow customers to use the drug on-site.

Possession of 2 ounces of marijuana and home-growing of six plants became legal in the city Thursday with implementation of Initiative 71, a ballot measure approved in November by 70 percent of voters.

The initiative, shepherded through a bureaucratic maze and then to victory by D.C. Cannabis Campaign chairman Adam Eidinger, allows gifting of 1 ounce but did not establish a regulated marketplace, as city ballot measures cannot appropriate funds.

The law passed Tuesday by the city council apparently was motivated by concern about the possibility of businesses dedicated to on-site pot consumption (but not sale, which remains illegal).

The restriction takes effect immediately - also blocking bars from allowing pot use in designated smoking areas and companies from allowing consumption of the drug at private events in public venues.

Violators could lose their business licenses and occupancy permits.

Eidinger warned city politicians he may lead a massive public “smoke-in” on April 20 if the new restrictions passed, telling Mayor Bowser on Twitter that passage of the legislation would “[end] our arrangement on no public smoke in protests.”

“Not hard,” he tweeted, “to mobilize thousands this 4/20 at city hall to respect marijuana users as equal citizens.” The John A. Wilson Building is the district’s de facto city hall. It’s bordered on the north by Freedom Plaza, a public square about 1,000 feet southeast of the White House.

Two council members who have actively supported legalization spoke in favor of the law at a hearing Tuesday. “If we don’t pass this there will be unintended consequences in neighborhoods throughout this city,” said Councilman David Grosso, an independent.

Councilman Vincent Orange, a Democrat, said in an apparent response to Eidinger’s threats, “I would hope that [activists] do not engage in public defiance and having public smoke-outs at this point in time. ... We should be very, very careful how we move forward, as we at some point want to be able to regulate from seed to sell.”

An irate Eidinger tells U.S. News he’s not wooed by Orange and feels betrayed by Grosso, who’s pushed legislation to regulate and tax sales of the drug. He believes the law is an unconstitutional restriction on Americans' right to assemble and that it's unfair to ban on-site use of legal marijuana but allow collective use of alcohol and cigarettes at businesses.

“The mayor told me all along she didn’t like the idea of smoke-ins and we were willing to not organize them as a tactic,” Eidinger says. “But it’s on the table now. You can probably count on a decision before April 20, which is usually when these things occur.”

Public smoke-ins are more common in western states, such as Colorado - where an annual event near the state capitol building in Denver features thousands defiantly smoking in public - and Washington, home to the annual Seattle Hempfest. Pot is now legal - but public consumption is not - in those states.

“There’s a big reason to gather and use cannabis in defiance of the law to demand a place to gather in private that’s legal,” Eidinger says. “I see this as a very good way to protest the law, but I need to consult more of our allies and build consensus.”

Eidinger says out-of-state activists have asked him for years when he’ll host a smoke-in in the nation’s capital. Until now, he’s felt it best to avoid sensational displays of indignation in favor of working with officials to implement widely supported reforms.

But now he says it would be a worthwhile rebuke to city officials, who only last week stood up to Congress and implemented Initiative 71, despite threats of prison from prohibitionist lawmakers who in December passed a budget measure banning enactment of laws legalizing marijuana.

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“We had rights and we just had them taken away," Eidinger says. "This was a bad political decision on the part of the mayor - it’s going to have consequences for her popularity in the city and for the city council."

Grosso, who voted for the restriction, says he won’t try to discourage Eidinger and other activists from organizing a public smoke-in.