Voters in the District of Columbia will decide whether to allow the use of marijuana as a medicine this fall, election officials concluded last week. The decision reversed a previous determination by the D.C. Board of Elections disqualifying Initiative 59, the District’s medical marijuana proposal, from the November 3 ballot.
Officials approved the initiative shortly after a D.C. Superior Court Judge ordered the BOE to include nearly 5,000 additional signatures gathered in support of the proposal.
“We are certainly pleased that D.C. voters are going to have a chance to decide for themselves on this important initiative,” said James Millner, a spokesman for the Whitman-Walker health clinic.
Initiative 59 seeks to exempt patients who use marijuana under a doctor’s supervision from the District’s criminal marijuana penalties. The measure also proposes allowing residents to “organize not-for-profit corporations for the purpose of cultivating, purchasing, and distributing marijuana exclusively for … medical use.”
In what could possibly become a stumbling block for the D.C. initiative, Congress appears poised to approve legislation mandating that no federal funds “may be used to conduct any [District] ballot initiative which seeks to legalize or otherwise reduce penalties associated with the possession, use, or distribution of any schedule I substance … or [marijuana] derivative.” If approved by the Senate, the measure would prevent city officials from printing the ballot and processing its results, the Associated Press reported.
For more information, please contact Keith Stroup, Esq. of NORML @ (202) 483-5500.