Residents of the District of Columbia strongly favor legalizing marijuana consumption for adults, according to the findings of a Washington Post poll, released today
Sixty-three percent of respondents said that they favor “legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use.”
Since 2010, the last time residents were polled on the question, Washingtonians of every age, race and ethnicity — black and white, teenage and elderly — have registered double-digit increases in support for legalization, The Washington Post reported.
Thirty-four percent of respondents said that they opposed legalization. However, among those respondents, nearly half (16 percent) acknowledged support for reducing the criminal penalties for marijuana offenses.
Earlier today, Members of the DC Committee on Public Safety voted unanimously in favor of legislation amending local marijuana possession penalties from a criminal misdemeanor (punishable by up to 6 months incarceration and a maximum fine of $1,000) to a non-arrestable civil infraction (punishable by a $25 fine for possession and a $100 fine for public consumption). The full City Council is expected to act on the measure within the coming weeks.
Any legislation approved by the DC City Council may be overridden by an act of Congress.
A 2012 report published by the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland reported that DC possesses the highest percentage of marijuana possession arrests per capita in the nation.
President Obama said he would never legalize marijuana. So how about Congress letting the DC City Council pass the legislation thereby forcing the president to legalize marijuana. Reverse psychology works for me.
Oh yea, and how about listening to the will of the people for a change. NORML please let us know which way our congress people vote. Last time I checked 63% was a majority, anyone who wants to stay in politics better remember that.
[Paul Armentano responds: The District has its own laws separate from federal laws.]
So… we all throw down a benjamin and smoke in front of the white house?
This is great news, but until banks and credit cards are given the “green” light to do business with cannabis cash it still sets up a very ugly and violent situation. Who wants to walk around with thousands of dollars in a paper bag?
The lack of our governments response to the cash money only makes them lose more of it to products like bitcoin and the very criminals we are trying to avoid.
It’s time to remove marijuana from schedule 1! Protect dispensary owners and growers who are complying with state law. Are we not the “United States?”
Where is our Congress? Where is our President? The people and the state’s are speaking, why then are you not listening?
Go DC! Go NORML!
Oh boy!
It would be well worth $125 dollars fine. Just to have the privilege to blow smoke on a politician.
If cannabis is not legalized, congress is just letting the funds continue to flow into the coffers of the cartels and the unregistered international entities. They have the chance to change this money drain with the quill and ink based upon popular vote, not personal fiat. If cannabis is legalized, the president doesn’t have to worry about the DEA going after his children because of his admitted cannabis usage.
So I wonder which modern day Bob Barr will introduce legislation in the Congress to override the wishes of DC’s democracy?
The feds just need to get out of the way, and give the green light to the UN that they had better change their treaty language because the US is lifting federal cannabis prohibition. The feds will simply no longer enforce cannabis prohibition, and will leave the decision to the states to legalize or foot the entire bill for and responsibility for enforcement. States, free to decide, will jump on the cannabis money train.
So the Rand Report has sent the signal to European countries to lift the international prohibition and allow countries to decide for themselves. HEY VIENNA! THAT MEANS YOU. THE UNODC — UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME.
From the Dutch Passion web site, UN has done, can’t do anything.
Link:
http://www.dutch-passion.nl/en/news-and-development/dutch-government-commission-brave-new-report-on-cannabis-legality/