A marijuana activist organization named DCMJ has announced plans to submit a marijuana legalization initiative to the Washington D.C. Board of Elections by the end of the week. The proposed initiative would legalize the possession and transfer of one ounce of marijuana, and allow cultivation of up to six plants. Currently in Colorado citizens can operate under similar rules. In Washington State you can possess an ounce, but you cannot grow marijuana.
A victory in Washington D.C. would be extremely significant. There is a chance that even if it gets all the signatures, and wins on election day, implementation of marijuana legalization could be blocked. That’s what happened with medical marijuana in Washington D.C., which has had medical marijuana on the books for over a decade, but implementation of the plan didn’t occur until recently. The United States Congress controls the purse strings for Washington D.C.’s budget, and they just have to never provide funding for the implementation unfortunately.
It would be very hard for a federal politician to justify marijuana prohibition if/when marijuana becomes legal in Washington D.C.. Marijuana reform is sweeping the country, and the dominoes are falling daily. Polling is at an all time high for marijuana legalization, more and more politicians are coming out in support of reform every day, it’s only a matter of time before the freedoms experienced in Colorado will be experienced nationwide.
If you want to learn more about the Washington D.C. proposal, visit DCMJ’s website. The site has the draft language for the initiative, and the option to provide feedback. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen an initiative that allows feedback to be collected so easily. I wish more campaigns would do that. It doesn’t guarantee that a consensus can be reached 100% of course, but it at least allows the opportunity to voice your opinion. I look forward to this campaign season, in Washington D.C. and beyond.
