Biden government wants to maintain ban on adult cannabis sales in DC

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Cannabis advocates and politicians in Washington, DC hoped 2021 would be the year the country’s capital would finally legalize adult cannabis sales, but the Biden government is actively trying to crush those dreams.

Although DC legalized adult possession and use of cannabis in 2014, it is still illegal to sell non-medicinal cannabis throughout the district. The legal confusion created by this voter-approved bill has created a “gray market” where companies trade “free” weed for merchandise, speeches, art, or “donations”.

To counter these quasi-legal sales, city officials began taking steps to create a fully licensed and regulated retail market. But before they could act, Republican Andy Harris, a Republican from Maryland, added a tab to the annual federal budget bill specifically preventing DC from spending its own tax dollars to regulate the retail sale of cannabis. The Democrats tried their best to knock this driver down, but the Republicans managed to renew it every year.

This year, with Democrats in majority control of the White House and Congress, DC politicians and activists believed the time for legalization had finally come. That March, Mayor Muriel Bowser and City Council Chairman Phil Mendelson each proposed their own separate bills to legalize retail in hopes that Congress would finally remove Harris’ rider from the budget.

Last week the Biden government may have dashed those hopes. Last month, the White House released the full details of its $ 6 trillion spending plan for the coming fiscal year. And while the government budget version includes a longtime tab protecting state medical marijuana operations from federal interference, it also includes the tab preventing DC from legalizing the retail sale of cannabis.

“The President’s budget is both positive and worrying. On the one hand, unlike his predecessors from both parties, he is the first incumbent president to call for continued protection for medical cannabis programs, ”Justin Strekal, political director of NORML, told Marijuana Moment. “But on the flip side, unlike President Obama, this budget denies DC citizens the right to self-determination when it comes to the overwhelming desire of the public and local government to regulate adult cannabis.”

MP Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) told Marijuana Moment that she was “very disappointed that the President’s budget is keeping the marijuana rider … rest of his budget. For example, he doesn’t interfere with medical marijuana. “

Since DC is not a state, it has no actual representation in Congress. Norton is currently a delegate to the House of Representatives, but is not allowed to vote on bills, including those that directly affect their district.

“DC is the only jurisdiction that needs to get Congressional approval on how we spend our local dollars and run our affairs,” Christina Henderson, a member of the At-Large Council, told The Outlaw Report. “If President Biden truly believes in the DC’s statehood and our right to full autonomy and representation, this is part of it.”

DC Ward 4 councilor Charles Allen, who co-sponsored one of the city’s current legalization laws, told The Outlaw Report that he was “shocked” that Biden would continue to interfere with the city’s plans. “Keeping the driver is anti-democratic and is missing an opportunity to correct an injustice related to local governance and the self-determination of Americans living in DC,” he said.

Although the Biden government clearly supports the inclusion of this amendment, it is up to Congress to debate and approve the final federal budget. And given the strong support the legislature has shown lately for weed reform, there is still a chance the rider can still be removed.