Democrats in Congress vote to keep ban on cannabis sales in Washington, DC |

Congressional Democrats voted this week to uphold a ban on cannabis sales in Washington, DC, despite earlier suggestions that they were ready to lift the ban and allow legal sales.

A spending draft unveiled Wednesday by House Appropriations Committee chair Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat, still included the so-called “Harris Rider,” which has blocked the District of Columbia from commercializing weed, though DC voters legalized recreational cannabis use in 2014. Linked to this issue is DC’s drive for statehood.

Named after Republican Congressman Andy Harris of Maryland, the tab has been a staple of every budget since the passage of this legalization initiative. (The US Congress oversees all laws in the District of Columbia.)

So while adults 21 and older have been able to legally possess cannabis in DC for the past eight years, the dream of a regulated market in the nation’s capital for cannabis consumers has not fully materialized.

Politico stated that “DC residents may consume, grow, and ‘gift’ cannabis products.” (“Gifting,” in which a business sells other items and then “gifts” cannabis to the customer, has been a popular workaround for pot sellers in jurisdictions where the sale is still illegal.)

The development is seen as a major disappointment to cannabis advocates, who have long held Harris Rider’s elimination as a political goal.

As Politico noted, the rider’s inclusion “came as a surprise to some proponents because it was not included in the funding packages presented by the House and Senate,” even though “President Joe Biden’s budget proposal included the controversial provision.”

A year ago, when Democrats officially regained control of Congress and Biden was sworn in as president, the prospects for cannabis reform looked bright. However, that has not necessarily come true today.

Senate Democrats released a version of their budget bill in October that notably did not include the Harris Rider.

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser welcomed the omission.

“The Senate Budget Act is a critical step in recognizing that DC people should be governed by DC values ​​in a democracy,” Bowser’s office said in a statement at the time.

“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.

Last week, more than 50 civil rights and cannabis advocacy groups urged Congress to remove the Harris Rider.

In a letter addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, among others, groups including the Drug Policy Alliance and the American Civil Liberties Union noted that DC’s lack of statehood ” 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 a statement.