As Midnight Strikes, DC’s Recreational Marijuana Initiative Becomes Law
Despite some early grumbling from Congress threatening to block DC’s ballot initiative from becoming law (because of DC’s special status, DC ballot initiatives do not become law until they pass through a 30-day Congressional review period), with only a few hours to go, it appears that the review period has come and gone.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser held a conference yesterday outlining the new DC law and how it would be enforced. Under DC’s new law, anyone 21 years of age or older will be able to lawfully:
- Possess two ounces or less of marijuana;
- Use marijuana on private property;
- Transfer one ounce or less of marijuana to another person, as long as (a) no money, goods or services are exchanged and (b) the recipient is 21 years of age or older; and
- Cultivate within his or her primary residence up to six marijuana plants, no more than three of which are mature.
It will remain illegal in DC for anyone to:
- Possess more than two ounces of marijuana;
- Smoke or otherwise consume marijuana on public space or anywhere to which the public is invited; including restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and public housing;
- Sell any amount of marijuana to another person; or
- Operate a vehicle or boat under the influence of marijuana.
Some Members of Congress are upset about the new law and Representative Jason Chaffetz, Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has written to Mayor Bowser, warning her that implementation of the DC law is illegal because it would violate the federal spending bill passed at the end of last year barring federal funds from being used “to enact any law, rule, or regulation to legalize or reduce penalties associated with the possession, use or distribution” of marijuana. Chairman Chaffetz has also launched an investigation, demanding that Mayor Bower provide his Committee with information about efforts related to DC’s enactment of the ballot initiative.
