| Keith Bacongo-Flickr edited by Toke of the Town. |
Washington D.C. voters will have the chance to legalize limited amounts of cannabis for recreational use for adults 21 and up this November. The D.C. board of elections today announced that a measure legalizing up to two ounces of pot as well as limited home cultivation will be up to voters.
“This is the war on marijuana’s Waterloo,” Adam Eidinger, campaign director for the D.C. Cannabis Campaign told Business Week today. “If we can pass it here in Washington, short of Congress overturning it, then the country really has changed.”
If approved, adults 21 and up would be able to grow up to six plants at a time as well as give away up to an ounce at a time to friends. Private and public retail sales would not be permitted.
Polling has shown support for legalizing pot in the district, which would mean a veto by Congress could prove to be wildly unpopular. The measure could face another hurdle from the U.S. Congress, which could outright block the law if passed. Or, they could go about it from another direction. As we reported last month, Maryland Republican Rep. Andy Harris has attached a bill to the current House budget proposal that would bar the city from using both local and federal tax dollars to implement any marijuana laws – recreational or medical.
Question 71, as it has been named, will be on the November ballot. Organizers say they collected more than twice the number of signatures needed.
Last month Washignton D.C. city council decriminalized up to an ounce of marijuana, making possession of that amount punishable by a fine of no more than $25. Prior to that, cannabis possession of that amount could result in $1,000 in fines and jail time.
