Pubdate: Thu, 06 Nov 2014
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2014 The Associated Press
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Ben Nuckols, The Associated Press

DEBATE ON POT LEGALIZATION SPROUTS IN D.C.'S BACKYARD

washington (AP) - The national marijuana legalization debate is 
moving into the backyard of a Republican controlled Congress, now 
that the District of Columbia has voted to legalize growing, 
possessing and sharing small amounts of pot.

Voters in Oregon and Alaska also approved legalization initiatives, 
joining Colorado and Washington state, where pot is legally available.

But while states out West enjoy autonomy and distance, federal 
lawmakers have the power to quash any D.C. law they don't like.

With legalization getting a foothold on the East Coast for the first 
time, the District's initiative could force Congress to make 
decisions affecting the future of legal pot nationwide.

"Members of Congress are literally going to be witness to these 
changes," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy 
Alliance, which spent heavily to push all three ballot initiatives. 
"It's a form of educating the members of Congress in away that some 
members would not get educated, depending on the states that they're from."

All laws in the nation's capital are sent to Capitol Hill for review. 
Congress rarely invokes that power, but when members do want to block 
District policies, they can attach amendments to unrelated, omnibus 
legislation too critical to be vetoed.

Congress routinely bars the spending of local tax dollars on 
abortions for poor women using this strategy, and it delayed medical 
marijuana in the District for more than a decade.

The District voted 69 percent to 31 percent Tuesday to approve the 
growing, possessing or sharing of up to 2 ounces of pot and up to 
three mature marijuana plants for personal use. Months earlier, a 
decriminalization law took effect, limiting the penalty for 
possession of a personal-use amount to a $25 ticket.

But it could take months at least before pot-smoking is totally OK in 
the District. Elected officials and advocates can't even agree 
whether the congressional review period lasts 30 days while the House 
and Senate are both in session, or 60 otherwise.

Also, the initiative doesn't provide for the legal sale or taxation 
of marijuana. Democratic Mayor-elect Muriel Bowser said Wednesday 
that she would not allow it to take effect unless the D.C. Council 
first implements a tax-and-regulation program.

Rep. Andy Harris, a Maryland Republican, tried to block the 
decriminalization law and said Wednesday that he'll try to block 
legalization as well, arguing that drug use among teenagers will rise 
if they fail to stop it.

Polls have shown a majority of Americans favor legalization, and 
Republicans are far from united in opposition.

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, the ranking Republican on the 
subcommittee that oversees the District, said Tuesday that the city's 
pot laws should be left to local officials. Paul also has sought to 
block the federal government from interfering with states' medical 
marijuana programs.

If the Republican-led Congress does try to quash the initiative by 
amending some bill President Barack Obama won't veto, it could force 
him to antagonize his base after advocates pointed to the huge racial 
disparities in marijuana arrests in the nation's capital.

In Florida, 58 percent of voters supported legalization of medical 
marijuana Tuesday, narrowly missing the 60 percent needed to amend 
the state's constitution.

"This is just the first battle, and I plan to win the war," said 
Orlando trial attorney John Morgan, who vowed Wednesday to begin 
working on another try in 2016.

Alaska's vote made it the first red state to create a fully legal 
recreational marijuana market. The measure passed 52 percent to 48 
percent and garnered majority support among every age group except 
those 65 and older.

There was, however, a sharp partisan divide, with 74 percent of 
Democrats supporting the bill, compared with 30 percent of 
Republicans. The partisan breakdown behind Oregon's vote was similar.

Other legalization advocates plan a big push for similar initiatives 
on 2016 ballots in California, Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts and 
Nevada, Nadelmann said.

Legalization opponent Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to 
Marijuana, said his side would need to respond in kind. The votes 
were "a bit of a wakeup call before 2016," he said, noting that 
legalization advocates had vastly outspent opponents this time.

The Washington Post contributed to this report.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom