The U.S. House of Representatives just voted 221-202 on the omnibus spending bill, which will allow Washington, D.C. to implement its medical marijuana law. The Senate will now take up the legislation; we expect it to pass there without any alterations. President Obama will sign the bill into law once the Senate has acted.

We expect all of this to happen very quickly; Congress and the president have until December 18 to finalize the legislation.

A new national poll shows that 53 percent of Americans favor ending marijuana prohibition, with support coming from all across the political spectrum: 61 percent among Democrats, 55 percent among Independents and 43 percent among Republicans.  This latest poll shows support to be 9 percent higher than a Gallup poll released in October, which showed that 44 percent of Americans favored making marijuana legal.

The new poll conducted last week by Angus Reid Public Opinion also reveals that 68 percent of Americans believe the war on drugs has been a failure.  When will our public servants finally listen to the people they’re supposed to be accountable to and reform our country’s marijuana laws?

MPP’s Aaron Houston will be interviewed on CNN’s “The Situation Room” today regarding progress toward lifting the “Barr amendment,” which has blocked Washington D.C. from implementing its medical marijuana law passed by voters in 1998. The show airs at 6 p.m. Eastern time, 3 p.m. Pacific.

Bear in mind that TV news schedules are always subject to last-minute change if there’s breaking news, but they are pre-taping the interview even as I post this.

Director of MPP-NV Dave Schwartz appears on NBC 3 KVBC Las Vegas to announce the beginning of the signature drive for an initiative to tax and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. This initiative would be on the ballot for Nevadans to approve in 2012. 12/09/2009

Marijuana Policy Project spokesman Mike Meno appears on NBC 4 to discuss the impending passage of a medical marijuana ordinance approved by voters in 1998. The law had been prevented from implementation by a funding ban that was recently removed from the Capitol's spending bill. 12/09/2009

Congress released the language of a long anticipated bill today that, among other things, will lift the ban on Washington, D.C.’s medical marijuana law. D.C. is now one big step closer to protecting patients from arrest and jail for using marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation.

Ten years ago, D.C. residents overwhelmingly passed a medical marijuana ballot initiative, but the law’s implementation was blocked by Congress. The bill released today -- a large omnibus spending bill -- lifts the ban on medical marijuana in the nation’s capitol.

The fix will likely be voted into law by the end of the week. This will kick off a lengthy process to enact the ballot initiative passed 10 years ago, a process that enjoys massive support among D.C. residents. By the summer of 2010, D.C. could join the 13 medical marijuana states in protecting medical marijuana patients from arrest.

Update: It's important to note the brave members of Congress who helped make this happen. Congressman Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) worked for years to remove the medical marijuana ban, and he was able to take it out of the first version of the spending bill back in July. Congressman David Obey (D-Wisc.) has also been a valuable ally, helping to protect Serrano's work as the bill moved through the complicated legislative process.  If you live in one of their districts, consider yourself well represented.

One more country has decided to take a meaningful step toward ending marijuana prohibition.

Starting next year, citizens of the Czech Republic will be able to grow up to five marijuana plants and possess “several marijuana cigarettes” for personal use, without fear of criminal prosecution.

According to the Wall Street Journal:

“The plant still remains illegal, however, though from the new year possession of five or less plants is merely a misdemeanor, and fines for possession will be on par with penalties for parking violations.”

How many more countries will implement significant marijuana policy reforms before our federal government decides it’s time to act?

Not by any rational standard, but the folks who run the Iditarod, Alaska’s famous sled-dog race, seem to think so.  Yikes.

A report published yesterday in the online journal BMC Neurology says that marijuana might help multiple sclerosis patients find relief from the spasticity and muscle spasms caused by the debilitating autoimmune disease.

“We found evidence that cannabis plant extracts may provide therapeutic benefit for MS spasticity symptoms,” said lead researcher Dr. Shaheen Lakhan, executive director of the Global Neuroscience Initiative Foundation. “The therapeutic potential of cannabinoids in MS appears to be comprehensive, and should be given considerable attention.”

The idea of using marijuana to treat MS is not new. This particular study looked at marijuana extracts, but there is also data available on the entire plant’s therapeutic potential for those suffering from MS.

President Obama is hosting a jobs forum at the White House today -- a gathering of business leaders and policy makers who will discuss the creation of new jobs in America. I wish I was there.

If I was in that room, I would stand up, raise my hand, and suggest that we tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol or tobacco. Obama might laugh at me, like he did when we asked him this very question back in March. But I would say it again anyway, because it’s exactly what the president needs to hear. Here is what I would say, if given the opportunity today: 

1. Marijuana is a multibillion dollar a year industry, one that contributes little if anything to the American economy. Why? Because our laws put the industry into the hands of criminals rather than legitimate businesses.

2. The exception to the above is the medical marijuana industry. In the states that have allowed regulated marketplaces, these businesses are booming despite the bad economy. For example, business expos in Michigan are touting the success of medical marijuana growing operations and their potential for creating jobs in the state hit hardest by the recession.

3. Finally, it worked with booze. Just last year, Congress praised the 21^st Amendment for lifting the ban on alcohol sales. A quote from H. CON. RES. 415: “2,500 breweries, distilleries, wineries, and import companies, 2,700 wholesale distributor facilities, over 530,000 retail outlets, and numerous agricultural, packaging, and transportation businesses support the employment of millions of Americans.”

The potential for job creation and economic growth in legal marijuana sales is massive. With a simple policy change we could create a new industry, rivaling the size of Philip Morris or MillerCoors domestically, but with a product that’s safer in every measurable way.

The jobs, the money, and the markets are already in place. Without marijuana prohibition, we could take a multibillion-dollar drain on the economy and turn it into a multibillion-dollar profit.