The weekend after marijuana became legal in the District, Capital City Hydroponics ran a sale on the indoor gardening kits needed to grow it. Business doubled. In a narrow Petworth basement stuffed with high-end gardening supplies, Michael Bayard gingerly explains that tomatoes are best grown indoors given the District's unfavorably dank weather. Tomatoes, it turns out, are cultivated similarly to marijuana. And since his shop, Capital City Hydroponics, opened in 2011, Bayard has often explained to customers how to grow the food - tacitly aware that some of them just go home and use their new tomato knowledge to grow pot. [continues 968 words]
During a visit with reggae singer Bob Marley in 1978, I asked him about the effects that smoking marijuana had on him. Relaxing in the sunroom of his home in Kingston, Jamaica, he said marijuana clarified his inner vision and inspired songs about peace and justice. Out of the "holy smoke," as Marley called it, came a plume of music that wafted far beyond the Jamaican shores, such as "Get Up, Stand Up" and another, written by fellow reggae singer Peter Tosh, called "Legalize It." [continues 632 words]
D.C. Business Owners Grapple With Diverse Needs As Laws on Marijuana Testing Evolve From white-linen restaurants to K Street law firms, D.C. employers have found themselves on the front lines of defining marijuana legalization in the nation's capital. If your employee shows up blearyeyed, can you do anything about it? And what protections will unions be able to offer? A survey of D.C. business owners and union leaders in the week since the District legalized possession, use and home cultivation of marijuana shows these questions have begun to fuel a lively debate in workplaces. [continues 933 words]
Here's the reality of the District's new law on legalized pot: Get busted while also holding two ounces of marijuana or less, and D.C. police will give it back to you. It happened this week at the 6th District police station in Northeast Washington. A man who had been arrested returned for the things that police take before they cart you off to jail. Among this man's possessions happened to be a small amount of marijuana - which police now view as property to store rather than contraband to seize. [continues 431 words]
After just five days of pot being legal in the nation's capital, the D.C. Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve new limits on marijuana use. The legislation introduced last week by Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) prohibits smoking in bars, clubs and virtually anywhere outside a private home where people could gather. Although Bowser stood up to Congress last week and legalized marijuana over threats of jail time from House Republicans, the mayor immediately asked for the new curbs. She said they are needed to close a loophole in a voter-approved ballot measure that could allow clubs with membership fees and access to the drug to form in the city. [continues 673 words]
Adam Eidinger was flying high. As chairman of the DC Cannabis Campaign, he helped spearhead the push to legalize marijuana in the nation's capital. When the law went into effect Thursday, he retreated to his campaign headquarters and took a victory toke, then another and another. Now, just a few days later, Eidinger is feeling low. On Tuesday, the D.C. Council passed emergency legislation - offered by Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) - that Eidinger says will undermine some provisions of the original law and hamper further liberalization of marijuana use. [continues 631 words]
Homes Currently Only Legal Place for Usage The D.C. Council on Tuesday barred private clubs from allowing marijuana usage on their premises, dashing the hopes of some pot entrepreneurs who sought to host events where patrons could partake and share with others. The emergency legislation, which passed unanimously and takes immediate effect, says any business that violates the law could have its business license revoked. It clarifies pot legalization laws that took effect five days ago. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser sought the measure to close a loophole in the voter-approved ballot measure, Initiative 71, that she believed left room for clubs to potentially charge membership fees for access to pot parties. [continues 450 words]
Marijuana Convention in D.C. Helps Put Growers in Business Legally Part patchouli, part power suit, entrepreneurs and enthusiasts gathered over the weekend for the District's first cannabis convention since the city legalized recreational marijuana - offering a glimpse of the emerging markets that could take hold in the nation's capital. Although the faint smell of marijuana hung over the Southwest D.C. hotel's exhibition hall - where attendees could get tips on how to grow it, buy products to smoke it and speak with consultants on how to market it - nowhere could it be found. [continues 820 words]
The mind-altering-substance market got a little more crowded in Washington this past week when the District joined three states in allowing residents to possess and consume marijuana for recreational purposes. And despite the objections of some congressional Republicans, initially led by Rep. Andy Harris (Md.), who's quite keen to tell D.C. voters that he knows better than they do, the District is actually the best place in America for marijuana aficionados - in part because of Harris's efforts to block the will of the voters. [continues 344 words]
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's (R) emotional disclosure that his cousin died of a heroin overdose shows that the tragedy of addiction is not restricted to any income class, ethnic group or geographic area ["For Hogan, the heroin crisis hit in the heart," Metro, Feb. 25]. Addiction afflicts individuals and families from all walks of life, in Maryland and across the United States. The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's 2013 Maryland Youth Risk Behavior Survey reported that 4.9 percent of the state's high school students have tried heroin at least once, 5 percent have tried methamphetamines and 3.9 percent have used a needle to inject these and other drugs. [continues 61 words]
Today, a rare consensus has emerged in favor of reforming our federal drug sentencing laws. This presents a historic opportunity to improve the fairness of our criminal justice system. But unless we act quickly, we risk letting the moment pass. The Justice Department has sought to be an early innovator on this front. A year and a half ago, I launched the Smart on Crime initiative- a comprehensive effort to reorient the federal government's approach to criminal justice. It focused on reducing the use of draconian mandatory minimum sentences for low-level drug offenses and deepening our investment in rehabilitation and reentry programs that can reduce the likelihood of recidivism. [continues 638 words]
In a chandeliered banquet hall not far from the U.S. Capitol on Saturday, a man with a Duke MBA and a Wall Street background offered the same sort of tips often given to aspiring entrepreneurs in places like this one: Develop a clear business plan; raise enough capital to weather setbacks; find a niche and own it. Listening were 150 or so people packed into rows of cushioned red-and-gold chairs at the District's first "Cannabis Academy," an event perfectly timed to capitalize on the rush from the city's newly legalized marijuana-growing marketplace. Butthe stereotypical images of stoner culture-leaf-adorned-Bob Marley flags and smoky photos of piled-high pot-were, by design, nowhere in sight at the Holiday Inn. The crowd, more grayhaired than long-haired, sipped coffee and thumbed through 100-plus page workbooks with categories such as "Legal" and "Accounting & Merchant Services." [continues 1233 words]
Sometimes it's hard to choose your poison, especially when all the options are horrible. That's what it's like when the District decides to take on Congress over an issue of self-government. The District's chances of winning such contests are small because of that pesky Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which gives Congress the power to "exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over . . . the Seat of the Government of the United States." The "Seat" is us. Still, there are times when the District simply has to mix it up with Congress. The principle of self-government - the right of citizens to determine their own destiny - is too precious to forfeit out of fear that our overseers might take umbrage. [continues 708 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) - Defying threats from Congress, the District of Columbia legalized possession of marijuana for recreational purposes on Thursday, becoming the first place east of the Mississippi River with legal pot. The new law took effect at 12:01 a.m., despite last-minute maneuvers by Republican leaders in Congress and threats that city leaders could face prison time. Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser, who took office in January, said it was her duty to implement the initiative city voters approved overwhelmingly in November. [continues 554 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) - The new mayor of the nation's capital was hoping to get along fine with Republicans on Capitol Hill. Instead, they've threatened her with prison and she has accused them of acting like bullies in a showdown over legal pot that could end up costing District of Columbia residents dearly. Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser defied threats from Congress by implementing a voter-approved initiative on Thursday, making the city the only place east of the Mississippi River where people can legally grow and share marijuana in private. [continues 225 words]
Shortage Could Ease in D.C., As More Firms Have Registered to Be Growers Even as the nation's capital enters an uncertain new age of legal marijuana, the 2,500 District residents permitted to buy medical cannabis are facing a blunt truth of their own: There isn't enough pot to go around. For months, many of the marijuana-using patients registered with the D.C. Department of Health have been frustrated by a chronic shortage in the system's very limited supply chain. Since last summer, when the D.C. Council relaxed the rules for obtaining a doctor's prescription for cannabis, the number of medical users has soared past the ability of the city's three official growers to meet it. [continues 822 words]
With Sales of Pot Still Illegal in D.C. and a Clear Grow-Your-Own Message From Police, You'll Need Patience Before You Have a Supply The District's marijuana initiative offers many pitfalls for the cannabis connoisseur, with strict limits on how much you can have and where you can smoke it. JEFF CHIU/ASSOCIATED PRESS But the hardest part may be growing the stuff. Because marijuana sales remain illegal - unlike in states that have legalized recreational or medical use - the District's initiative is based on people growing their own. Or in the mantra of Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier: "Home use. Home grown." [continues 1205 words]
If marijuana is going to be as mainstream as chardonnay in our country's capital, it shouldn't be tough for a minivan-driving mother of two to find a pot party, right? Especially not if the city's stoners are lighting up in the wee hours Thursday to celebrate legalization. I tried a tweet. "So where's the pot party in D.C. tonight?" I asked, a few hours before the new law took effect. Nothing. I tried Facebook. "Well, I would [tell you where the party is], but since the law allows me to smoke it, but not to actually purchase it, it's a challenge," responded one of my Mommyland friends. [continues 1505 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) - The new mayor of the nation's capital was hoping to get along fine with Republicans on Capitol Hill. Instead, they've threatened her with prison and she has accused them of acting like bullies in a showdown over legal marijuana that could end up costing District of Columbia residents dearly. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, defied threats from Congress by implementing a voter-approved initiative on Thursday, making the city the only place east of the Mississippi River where people can legally grow and share marijuana in private. But Congress still has the final say over the city's budget and laws, and the Republicans in charge seem determined to make Bowser pay. [continues 531 words]
WASHINGTON - Some congressional Republicans said Thursday that they would increase their efforts to prevent District of Columbia residents from possessing small amounts of marijuana - which became legal Thursday - and warned that the city would face numerous investigations and hearings should the mayor continue her practice of telling them to please find something else to worry about. "We say move forward at your own peril," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, echoing a letter he sent this week with Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., to city officials warning of legal action and ordering the district to turn over documentation on any employees involved with putting the law into effect. [continues 304 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) - The mayor of the nation's capital was hoping to get along fine with Republicans on Capitol Hill. Instead, they've threatened her with prison, and she has accused them of acting like bullies in a showdown over legal pot that could end up costing District of Columbia residents dearly. Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser defied threats from Congress by implementing a voter-approved initiative Thursday, making the city the only place east of the Mississippi River where people can legally grow and share marijuana in private. [continues 128 words]
Reaching Out to Hill Also Helped Bowser Ensure Low-Key Launch The mayor met with marijuana advocates to minimize drama. After staring down congressional Republicans who had threatened her with prison, Mayor Muriel E. Bowser helped usher in legal pot in the District this week with minimal fuss. But the work actually began 11 months ago in a Mount Pleasant coffee shop, when she struck a deal with marijuana advocates. Bowser secured a promise from leaders of the city's pot movement to keep legalization a low-key affair to avoid needlessly provoking opponents. Even though she hadn't yet won the Democratic primary, Bowser knew she didn't want to be mayor when images of weed-smoking crowds packed in public parks or around national monuments emanated from the city on national news programs. [continues 1237 words]
Advocates of Legalization Celebrate in Private; Police Report No Arrests D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser on Thursday sent emergency legislation to the D.C. Council to prohibit nightclubs, private membership clubs and virtually any other city-registered business from providing a venue for social marijuana smoking. The legislation is an attempt to rein in one aspect of the city's newly effective marijuana legalization law that Bowser (D) has said could produce confusion - and, potentially, more public use of the drug then she believes was intended under the ballot measure approved by voters. [continues 836 words]
Although marijuana became legal in the District of Columbia on Thursday morning, federal workforce rules remain unchanged for the roughly half-million U.S. government employees and military personnel who live in the area. After 12:01 a.m. Thursday, District authorities said anyone 21 and older could possess up to 2 ounces of pot, although the drug is still prohibited on federally administered properties, such as the Mall, Rock Creek Park and public housing. Despite the new policy, which resulted from an initiative voters approved in November, the U.S. government still considers marijuana an illegal drug and expects its civilian and military personnel to abide by federal guidelines. [continues 332 words]
WASHINGTON - The city that brought America government shutdowns and all-night filibusters is set to make pot legal Thursday. But by the time the chaos over implementing the law is settled, most everyone in the District of Columbia might wish they were smoking some. Residents voted overwhelmingly in November to allow growing and possessing small amounts of marijuana. But Congress, using its oversight authority over the nation's capital, inserted a provision into a massive December spending deal that prevented the local government from enacting the law. [continues 377 words]
Recreational Pot Use Becomes Legal in D.C., but Congress Calls the City's Law Invalid. WASHINGTON - The city that brought America government shutdowns and all-night filibusters made recreational marijuana use legal Thursday. And the foggy dispute over whether the law is even valid has probably made some people in the District of Columbia wish they were smoking some. It's a fight that could make sense only in Washington, involving language drafted in backrooms of Congress, partisan bickering and a disputed loophole that allowed the law to take effect at midnight. [continues 814 words]
Marijuana Legalization Seen As a Breakthrough for the Nation's Capital and a National Movement As Thursday dawns on the nation's capital, marijuana will be a legal intoxicant, though Washington will not be Amsterdam, or even Denver. There will be no pot shops, no open-air smoking, but at least for the moment, the District - for once in its decades-long struggle for the right to govern itself - has gotten its way, and a green rush is on. Despite a last-hours intervention by the Republican chairman of the House committee that handles D.C. affairs, Mayor Muriel E. Bowser and D.C. Council members said Wednesday that they would not back down from implementing the will of the 70 percent of city voters who approved legalization in November. [continues 1845 words]
House Republicans Threaten City Officials With Jail for Implementing the Marijuana Law. AMID ALL the uncertainties surrounding the legalization of marijuana in D.C., a few things are clear. Among them is that Congress has better things to do than meddle in the purely local affairs of the District. When it does interfere, it ends up making a mess of matters. Apparently, however, there are no bounds to the grandstanding of opportunistic politicians on Capitol Hill. That District officials and employees have been threatened with jail, by no less than the chairman of a powerful congressional committee, for their good-faith efforts to follow a voter mandate is utterly inexcusable. Such a spectacle - and the fact that the District is under congressional attack for undertaking virtually the same steps as its counterparts in Colorado, Washington and, most recently, Alaska - should bring home to the rest of the country the need to redress the historic injustice of the city's limited political powers. [continues 329 words]
D.C. lawmakers held steadfast that marijuana legalization laws would go into effect Thursday, despite threats from two House Republicans that doing so would put local government employees at risk of jail time. Local officials were put on notice late Tuesday in a letter from Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz saying that Congress is investigating whether the city violated federal law by spending money to implement a voter-approved initiative to legalize the possession and home cultivation of marijuana. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser responded Wednesday, saying the District is well within its legal right to implement the laws, which were set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, and that she doesn't believe the implementation of Initiative 71 has cost the District any money. [continues 821 words]
The city that brought America government shutdowns and all-night filibusters is set to make pot legal on Thursday. But by the time the chaos over implementing the law is settled, most everyone in the District of Columbia might wish they were smoking some. Residents voted overwhelmingly in November to allow growing and possessing small amounts of marijuana. But Congress, using its oversight authority over the nation's capital, inserted a provision into a massive December spending deal that prevented the local government from enacting the law. [continues 148 words]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) Marijuana advocates' hopes that the US capital would easily follow in the footsteps of Denver or Seattle in clearing the way for lawful pot use are set to go up in smoke this week. Voters in the District of Columbia last year passed a measure clearing the way for pot possession, but members of Congress have used their power over the city to prevent local officials from coming up with any plan to let the drug be sold legally for recreational purposes. [continues 645 words]
Landlords, tenants and homeowners have an unexpected new worry: legalized marijuana. Already, marijuana use is an issue for D.C. landlords under decriminalization. One owner of 350 rentals in the city is about to add a no-smoking clause to his lease. He has always advertised his properties as non-smoking. But he is getting an increasing number of complaints from tenants in his buildings about the pungent odor from dope-smoking. The latest trend in the marijuana subculture is the smoking of "dabs" of marijuana concentrate. This highly concentrated form of marijuana is expensive but growing in popularity for recreational use. And it's explosive - literally. [continues 500 words]
In the Feb. 12 Fed Page article "House panelists say changes are needed to end civil forfeiture abuses," Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) said, "It is increasingly apparent that our laws are not sufficient" to protect individuals. One would think that the Fourth and Fifth amendments of the Constitution, with their unambiguous language about the need for warrants and due process, would clearly render the whole concept of civil forfeiture unconstitutional. We need a Congress willing to repeal these laws or a judiciary willing to uphold the Constitution by declaring such laws in conflict with the property rights defined in the Constitution and, therefore, invalid. Bill Bach, Darnestown [end]
Regarding the Feb. 16 front-page article "D.C. lacks pot rules even as legalization day nears": Do city officials want the District to be known for pot use and as a pot distribution center? A recent Police Foundation report on the impact of pot legalization tells of the nightmare that is unfolding in Colorado. The same nightmare is likely to unfold in the District if the law goes forward with or without regulation. The following can be expected: increased use among youth; increased numbers of those seeking treatment; increased pot-related DUIs; increased secondhand smoke issues; increased drug cartel and black-market activity; and increased homelessness. [continues 80 words]
Thanks to Catherine Rampell for exposing in her Feb. 13 op-ed column, "Drug tests for everyone," the hypocrisy of governors and legislators who want to test those who receive public funds and benefits. Targeting the poor and the most vulnerable for drug testing has proved that it costs more to do the testing than to pay the benefit. Not a prudent use of taxpayer money. However, we can be certain that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) and politicians of his political bent will not be targeting those (the top 20 percent) claiming tax breaks, although doing so could, as Ms. Rampell says, "produce a huge windfall." Bullying and intimidating the poorest with drug testing is nothing more than a way for politicians to establish their conservative bona fides, and it is certainly not the path to follow for weeding out those receiving the biggest public subsidies. Elise Cleva, Arlington [end]
The District of Columbia could soon earn a new nickname: the Wild West of marijuana. In 10 days, a voter-approved initiative to legalize marijuana will take effect, D.C. officials say. Residents and visitors old enough to drink a beer will be able to possess enough pot to roll 100 joints. They will be able to carry it, share it, smoke it and grow it. But it's entirely unclear how anyone will obtain it. Unlike the four states where voters have approved recreational pot use, the District government has been barred from establishing rules governing how marijuana will be sold. It was prohibited from doing so by Congress, which has jurisdiction over the city. [continues 1943 words]
Scott Walker is right: It's time for more Americans to get comfortable peeing in cups. Our nation's fiscal health may depend on it. I'm referring, of course, to taking a drug test as a condition for receiving government benefits. Walker, the Wisconsin governor and a likely 2016 Republican presidential contender, made this a centerpiece of his recently announced state budget. True, results from other states that have tried this strategy don't look particularly encouraging. In Tennessee, more than 16,000 applicants for public assistance were screened for drug use under a new state law; exactly 37 tested positive, or about 0.2 percent. [continues 674 words]
AG Says Hearing Might Violate Congressional Ban The D.C. Council on Monday downgraded the scope of a hearing on regulating marijuana sales to avoid legal concerns raised by the city's attorney general - a move emblematic of the hurdles congressional oversight has created for the District in its quest to legalize pot. Over the weekend, the D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine alerted council members that holding a hearing on the proposal would violate a congressional ban on spending money to enact legislation that loosens drug laws in the city. Warned that improper action could earn officials and staff jail time or $5,000 fines, council committees instead held an informal roundtable discussion to enable dozens of witnesses assembled Monday to testify on the issue. [continues 539 words]
It's A Rocky Trip Down From a Rocky Mountain High Certain Americans have a love-hate relationship with marijuana, and with the pleasure comes the pain. In Colorado, where residents have legalized the euphoria of pot, the unhealthy consequences of it are beginning to emerge. There's a warning for other states in the Rocky Mountain high. Last week, the state of Colorado published a 188-page study of the health effects of pot. Coming a year after voter-approved legalization took effect, "Monitoring Health Concerns Related to Marijuana in Colorado: 2014" reviews existing literature and compiles a summary of the effects of marijuana use. Given the health risks associated with cannabis, it's a perverse irony of human nature that the craving for a high can drive a stoner to give in to such a self-abusing downer. [continues 448 words]
The D.C. Council made another wrong move Monday by discussing the pros and cons of the Prohibition of Pre-Employment Marijuana Testing Act, which would bar employers from drug testing job applicants and prospective employees. Before the lawmakers take another whiff of this insidious proposal, they should take a serious step in a different direction. All 13 members of the council and Mayor Muriel Bowser, if she is considering endorsing such a bill, should be tested for drugs. The very idea of measures such as these opens wide the doors to undermine public safety, public health and common sense. [continues 613 words]
City Attorney General Saw Risk of Violating Congressional Ban The D.C. Council abandoned plans to hold a hearing on how to tax and regulate marijuana Monday after the District's new attorney general warned that it could subject city lawmakers and their staff members to fines and even jail time. The move amounted to a setback for advocates of marijuana legalization and highlighted the difficulties the District is likely to face as it tries to implement Initiative 71, the ballot measure approved overwhelmingly by voters in November. [continues 992 words]
(AP) - The acting U.S. drug czar says the federal government shouldn't interfere with the District's move to legalize possession of marijuana for recreational use. Michael Botticelli said Friday that while he doesn't agree with legalization, he believes the District "should stick to its home rule." City voters approved legalization in November by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. But in December Congress passed a spending bill that included language intended to block legalization. D.C. leaders argue that they can still make pot legal because the language of the bill wasn't clear. The bill blocks the District from spending money to change its marijuana laws. Mr. Botticelli said during a question-and-answer session on Friday that the District government should be able to spend local tax dollars as it sees fit. [end]
One Word Could Help the District Around a Congressional Action WASHINGTON - Last fall, voters in the District of Columbia chose to join a handful of states in legalizing the production and possession of small amounts of marijuana. But unlike in the states, the free will of district voters - no matter how overwhelmingly expressed - is never the end of the story. Congressional Republicans believe they have successfully nullified the law. But officials here, seizing on a single word in the congressional legislation designed to scuttle the policy, beg to differ, setting up one of the most closely watched collisions between the two Washingtons in years. [continues 843 words]
WASHINGTON - Last fall, voters in the District of Columbia chose to join a handful of states in legalizing the growth and possession of small amounts of marijuana. But unlike in the states, the free will of district voters - no matter how overwhelmingly expressed - is never the end of the story. Congressional Republicans believe they have successfully nullified the law. But officials here, seizing on a single word in the congressional legislation designed to scuttle the policy, beg to differ, setting up one of the most closely watched collisions between the two Washingtons in years. [continues 838 words]
President Obama's $4 trillion budget plan would allow the District to spend its own tax dollars to legalize and regulate marijuana by rolling back restrictions put in place by Republican lawmakers last year. Congress passed a spending bill in December that blocks the District from spending any money - federal or local tax dollars - to enact legislation that would legalize or reduce penalties associated with the recreational use of marijuana or any other Schedule 1 drugs. The congressional action leaves the District in the lurch as D.C. residents voted to legalize recreational marijuana but lawmakers have yet to adopt a regulatory scheme that would allow its sale and taxation. [continues 440 words]
Proposal Ends Congress's Restriction on Setting Up Regulations in the City President Obama's $4 trillion budget would do a lot of things, but one of the most controversial may turn out to be allowing legal sales of marijuana in the nation's capital. D.C. voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure last year to follow Colorado and Washington state in legalizing pot for recreational use. But in December, outgoing Democrats and incoming Republican leaders in Congress moved to halt the measure. Under a broad budget deal, they prevented the District's mayor and council from spending any money to work out the specifics of how pot would be sold, which the ballot measure left up to local politicians to decide. [continues 447 words]
Eric Wang's Jan. 25 Local Opinions commentary, "The cost of a political opinion," characterized William V. Jones III, the founder of the group "Two. Is. Enough. D.C.," as a concerned citizen who merely made an anti-marijuana Web site and participated in a few meetings, rather than someone who should have been fined for campaign law violations. Before registering as a campaign, Mr. Jones collected contributions without disclosure or oversight, had large banners printed with his message and branding and brought in a former congressman to help him host a news conference announcing the launch of his political group. Mr. Jones was the head of what was, by all outward appearances, an unregulated political campaign formed to oppose a specific ballot measure, Initiative 71. His fining hardly shows overreach by D.C. government. Matt Popovich, Washington [end]
D.C. police have written more than 250 tickets for marijuana possession in the roughly six months since the District relaxed its marijuana laws, but the vast majority of citations have simply been ignored, an analysis by The Washington Times has found. From July 17 through Jan. 7, the Metropolitan Police Department issued 251 tickets for marijuana possession, with 47 percent issued to people in the department's Seventh District, which lies east of the Anacostia River and includes some of the city's poorest neighborhoods. [continues 1224 words]
Civic-minded citizens of the District: Think twice the next time you write a blog entry, post on Facebook or Twitter or attend a meeting or rally to support or oppose a ballot initiative. You could be required to register and report with the city or else pay a large fine. The Office of Campaign Finance (OCF) at the D.C. Board of Elections dropped this end-of-the-year bombshell in an enforcement proceeding arising from November's election, in which District residents voted to legalize marijuana. [continues 380 words]
Move to Gauge How Lawmakers Challenge Congress The D.C. Council is pursuing a regulatory scheme for the sale and taxation of marijuana, scheduling hearings on proposed legislation that flies in the face of congressional attempts to prevent the District from loosening its drug laws. City officials say council committees expect to begin hearings on the bill in early February - a move that will gauge how far D.C. lawmakers are willing to challenge Congress on the issue. D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said the council should be in the clear to hold public meetings on the proposed legislation, which would codify regulations regarding marijuana that were not included in a voter-approved ballot initiative. [continues 446 words]
Inside District of Columbia
