Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
In the District, medical marijuana is legal, residents can possess up to two ounces of pot and they can grow up to six plants in their homes. Now a D.C. government agency says the city should take the next step and fully legalize the sale of marijuana.
In a new report published by the D.C. Department of Health on marijuana use and policy in the nation's capital, the agency recommends that marijuana sales be legalized, regulated and taxed much like they have been in Colorado and Washington state.
The report, "Marijuana in the District of Columbia," says the city should develop and implement strategies to "impose state taxes on production, distribution and sales along with a licensed market participation, age restriction and prohibitions on advertising and marketing to minors." It also recommends that the city base the new regulations and restrictions on those used for alcohol and tobacco.
The report was first picked up by by Tom Angell of Marijuana Majority.
The recommendations are consistent with what city officials have said in recent years. Shortly after winning her mayoral bid in November 2014 - the same election in which D.C. residents voted to legalize possession and home cultivation - Mayor Muriel Bowser sided with legal sales of marijuana.
"I see no reason why we wouldn't follow a regime similar to how we regulate and tax alcohol," Bowser said at the time.
But the report comes at a time when the mayor and other city officials have clashed with Republicans in Congress over a number of issues, ranging from the city's independence to spend its locally raised revenue to what type of gun laws should prevail in the nation's capital. Since 2014, Congress has prohibited D.C. from spending any of its money to implement a regulatory scheme for legal pot sales, and the prohibition remains in a spending bill currently being debated on Capitol Hill.
That prohibition has left in limbo a legalization bill before the D.C. Council, so much so that in February 2015 legislators backtracked from holding a formal hearing on the bill over concerns that it would cross the line set by Congress.
According to a number of estimates - including one from the D.C. Chief Financial Officer - a market for legal marijuana sales in D.C. could be worth between $100 million and $130 million every year.
The report also includes demographic data on marijuana use in D.C. and finds that half of all residents have tried marijuana and that close to 18 percent currently use it. The data also shows higher rates of use among African-American men compared to other ethnicities and genders, and also among residents in lower income groups and with less formal education. The highest rates of use are found in wards 5 and 7, coming in at between 20 and 23 percent.
The report also says that marijuana is the second-most detected drug in traffic fatalities, after alcohol. But it does caution that since marijuana can remain in the bloodstream for a number of days after initial use, the detection of marijuana after an accident does not mean the driver was impaired at the time.
It also explores the impact of marijuana use on adolescents, pointing to data showing that students that use more marijuana have higher rates of low academic performance. But even there the report hedges, saying that some studies show that students with low grades are more likely to use marijuana, and that marijuana use doesn't necessarily cause them to get low grades.
On criminal justice, the report says that after D.C. decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana in 2014 - it was the precursor to the full legalization that took effect last year - the number of arrests for possession dropped dramatically. In 2014, there were 1,848 arrests for marijuana possession. Last year, there were only 26.
In addition to recommending the legalization of marijuana sales, the Department of Health's report says D.C. should strengthen programs to educate residents on the health impacts of marijuana use, improve resources for those suffering from addiction and provide expectant mothers with more information on the risks of using marijuana during pregnancy.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: D.C. Health Department Says Pot Sales Should Bhttpe Legal, But Congress Still Says No
Author: Martin Austermuhle
Contact: 202-885-1200
Photo Credit: Flickr
Website: WAMU 88.5
In a new report published by the D.C. Department of Health on marijuana use and policy in the nation's capital, the agency recommends that marijuana sales be legalized, regulated and taxed much like they have been in Colorado and Washington state.
The report, "Marijuana in the District of Columbia," says the city should develop and implement strategies to "impose state taxes on production, distribution and sales along with a licensed market participation, age restriction and prohibitions on advertising and marketing to minors." It also recommends that the city base the new regulations and restrictions on those used for alcohol and tobacco.
The report was first picked up by by Tom Angell of Marijuana Majority.
The recommendations are consistent with what city officials have said in recent years. Shortly after winning her mayoral bid in November 2014 - the same election in which D.C. residents voted to legalize possession and home cultivation - Mayor Muriel Bowser sided with legal sales of marijuana.
"I see no reason why we wouldn't follow a regime similar to how we regulate and tax alcohol," Bowser said at the time.
But the report comes at a time when the mayor and other city officials have clashed with Republicans in Congress over a number of issues, ranging from the city's independence to spend its locally raised revenue to what type of gun laws should prevail in the nation's capital. Since 2014, Congress has prohibited D.C. from spending any of its money to implement a regulatory scheme for legal pot sales, and the prohibition remains in a spending bill currently being debated on Capitol Hill.
That prohibition has left in limbo a legalization bill before the D.C. Council, so much so that in February 2015 legislators backtracked from holding a formal hearing on the bill over concerns that it would cross the line set by Congress.
According to a number of estimates - including one from the D.C. Chief Financial Officer - a market for legal marijuana sales in D.C. could be worth between $100 million and $130 million every year.
The report also includes demographic data on marijuana use in D.C. and finds that half of all residents have tried marijuana and that close to 18 percent currently use it. The data also shows higher rates of use among African-American men compared to other ethnicities and genders, and also among residents in lower income groups and with less formal education. The highest rates of use are found in wards 5 and 7, coming in at between 20 and 23 percent.
The report also says that marijuana is the second-most detected drug in traffic fatalities, after alcohol. But it does caution that since marijuana can remain in the bloodstream for a number of days after initial use, the detection of marijuana after an accident does not mean the driver was impaired at the time.
It also explores the impact of marijuana use on adolescents, pointing to data showing that students that use more marijuana have higher rates of low academic performance. But even there the report hedges, saying that some studies show that students with low grades are more likely to use marijuana, and that marijuana use doesn't necessarily cause them to get low grades.
On criminal justice, the report says that after D.C. decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana in 2014 - it was the precursor to the full legalization that took effect last year - the number of arrests for possession dropped dramatically. In 2014, there were 1,848 arrests for marijuana possession. Last year, there were only 26.
In addition to recommending the legalization of marijuana sales, the Department of Health's report says D.C. should strengthen programs to educate residents on the health impacts of marijuana use, improve resources for those suffering from addiction and provide expectant mothers with more information on the risks of using marijuana during pregnancy.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: D.C. Health Department Says Pot Sales Should Bhttpe Legal, But Congress Still Says No
Author: Martin Austermuhle
Contact: 202-885-1200
Photo Credit: Flickr
Website: WAMU 88.5
