DC Council says workers can’t be fired for pot

Workers in the nation’s capital need not worry about being canned for cannabis, according to legislation passed by the Washington, DC City Council on Tuesday.

The measure, known as the Cannabis Employment Protections Amendment Act of 2022, was unanimously approved by the governing body.

It is now awaiting the signature of Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. According to National Public Radio, if Bowser were to sign it, “the bill will go into effect after 60 days of Congressional review and posting of the bill on the District of Columbia Registry.”

The bill doesn’t apply to every employee who works in DC. As the Washington Post noted, the law would “[make] However, exceptions apply to workers in “safety-sensitive occupations,” including heavy equipment operators, construction workers, police and security guards who carry guns, and medical professionals.” And of course, the law would not protect many federal employees from disciplinary action if they tested positive for cannabis .

However, the federal government continues to exercise its authority over Washington, DC’s cannabis laws.

DC voters passed a measure legalizing adult cannabis use back in 2014, but selling recreational cannabis is still illegal.

That’s because Congress, which has authority over DC’s laws, has banned the commercialization of weed in the city in every budget law since the legalization measure was passed eight years ago.

Last year there was hope that Congress could finally lift the restriction after a bill introduced in the Senate last October failed to include the provision.

Bowser’s camp welcomed that at the time.

“The Senate Appropriations Act is a critical step in recognizing that DC residents should be governed by DC values ​​in a democracy,” Bowser’s office said in a statement. “As we continue the journey towards DC statehood, I would like to thank Senator Appropriations Committee Chairman Senator Patrick Leahy, our good friend and Subcommittee Chairman Senator Chris Van Hollen, and of course our champion on the Hill, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes, thank Norton, for recognizing and promoting the will of DC voters. We call on Congress to pass a final spending bill that will similarly remove all anti-Home Rule tabs, allowing DC to spend our local funds as it sees fit.

However, Republicans were not pleased.

“This one-sided process has resulted in bills that exceed the Democrats’ own budget approval and do not give the same attention to our nation’s defense. Their bills are riddled with poison pills and problematic permitting provisions, and they remove important legacy issues on issues like terrorism, abortion and immigration that have had broad support on both sides of the aisle for years,” Senate Appropriations Committee vice chair Richard Shelby said at the time.

In March, Shelby and the Republicans were victorious as the final version of the budget bill upheld the ban.

Groups including the Drug Policy Alliance and the American Civil Liberties Union lamented the development, saying Washington, DC “remains the only jurisdiction in the country that cannot regulate the sale of marijuana or reap the public health and safety benefits of legalization.” “.

“On the one hand, Congress continues to make strides in advancing federal marijuana reform based on racial justice, while remaining responsible for ensuring that the very jurisdiction that has guided the country through that lens in legalizing marijuana prevented from regulating it. This conflict and contradiction must end now,” Queen Adesuyi, senior national policy manager for the Drug Policy Alliance, said in March.

Despite the ban, some retailers in Washington, D.C. have still managed to sell weed, often through the practice of “gift giving,” in which a business sells a product (often a t-shirt or hat) and then gives one to the customer “Gift” of grass.

In April, the DC City Council rejected a proposal to take action against these retailers.