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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsConsuming marijuana in a private home will no longer be a criminal offense in the nation’s capital
Consuming marijuana in a private home will no longer be a criminal offense in the nations capital under a measure that passed the D.C. Council on Tuesday and that instantly escalated a simmering national debate over loosening marijuana laws.
Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) intends to sign the measure, a spokesman said, putting District drug law in conflict with federal law. The signed measure will go to Congress, which has veto authority over D.C. laws but has organized to override only three times since 1979.
National advocates for marijuana legalization celebrated the 10 to 1 vote by the D.C. Council, expressing confidence that a divided Congress would fail to act to upend it, and more importantly, that the vote might reflect growing mainstream support for recreational use of the drug.
Under the bill, D.C. would not go as far as Colorado and Washington state, where voters have legalized the sale and use of marijuana. Instead, the measure would put the District at the forefront of 17 states that have taken the partial measure to decriminalized marijuana, eliminating jail time for most offenses in favor of civil fines.
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It also will add gray areas in policing: D.C. officers would not be able to arrest someone due to the smell of marijuana: they would have to see the smoke. And being marijuana-impaired in public would not be a crime equal to public intoxication unless it occurs behind the wheel.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/dc-council-eliminates-jail-time-for-marijuana-possession-stepping-to-national-forefront/2014/03/04/df6fd98c-a32b-11e3-a5fa-55f0c77bf39c_story.html?tid=pm_pop
This should only be in single family homes - others might smell it and not like it.
glowing
(12,233 posts)A good step in the right direction that makes the police obsolete in coming in and seeing a roach in the ashtray, but it's not like the weed got up and walked itself into the home. There is still the issue of obtaining it in the first place.
MindMover
(5,016 posts)""
pipoman
(16,038 posts)The Straight Story
(48,121 posts)So if it is, let's ban it when it's use can be detected by others. 'Cause freedom.