DC Defies Congress & Moves Forward with Cannabis Reform Initiatives

 (DC Councilman David Grosso)

Despite the attempts by Congress to thwart DC’s cannabis legalization initiative, the District is still moving forward with their plans to create a full-scale legal cannabis market in the capitol of the U.S.

Councilman David Grosso was responsible for initially introducing this bill, when he recently brought back the Regulation Act of 2013 that would have cannabis treated as a controlled substance similar to alcohol. The initiative passed with almost 70 percent of votes, but at the last minute, Maryland Congressman Andy Harris added an anti-cannabis amendment to the bill. This is another case of DC getting the short end of the stick because of their non-state status, but Grosso claims he will continue to fight by introducing a new bill to the DC council.

“I think we’re on the path to seeing this bill enacted,” he stated in an interview with US News. “By moving this bill forward, we’re directly confronting Congress.” The success of this new bill relies on a loophole found in Harris’ counter bill, and the hope that the original voter interest will prevail when it comes to legalization. There is also a plan to begin opening recreational cannabis shops in lieu of the new decision, both as a protest and a statement that the ruling will soon be overturned.

“This is a golden opportunity to do direct civil disobedience,” Grosso added in his interview, “because if Congress is saying, ‘No, you can’t do it,’ and we do it, it challenges them to do what they think they have to do, unlike going out in the street and blocking traffic, where it’s an indirect message to the cause you’re trying to move forward. Congress will give us our rights when 10,000 people a week show up on their doorstep and scream at them. But people aren’t doing that yet.”