Earlier this year, D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson introduced “The Comprehensive Legalization and Regulation Act of 2021," a bill to regulate and tax cannabis sales in the District.
A public hearing, which will be conducted via Zoom, has been scheduled for this Friday, November 19 at 9:00 a.m. Friday’s hearing will be the D.C. Council’s first official hearing on a bill to legalize adult-use cannabis sales.
If you are interested in providing testimony on Friday, please sign up here. Testimony is limited to three minutes, and you must register to testify by the close of business on Wednesday, November 17. You may also submit written testimony for the record to cow@dccouncil.us. The record will close on Friday, December 3, 2021.
If you live in D.C, urge your councilmembers to support taxing and regulating cannabis sales for adults 21 and older in the District.
The Comprehensive Legalization and Regulation Act of 2021 would establish a regulatory scheme for the licensing, production, and retail sale of adult-use cannabis in the District, allow for automatic expungement of D.C. Code cannabis-related arrests and convictions, and establish a social equity program to provide opportunities in the legal industry for communities disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition. You can check out our summary of the bill here.
In other news, please consider signing and sharing this petition to have the Council remove the $100 fee that the regulating agency (ABRA) charges to process cards for medical cannabis patients. This is a huge barrier to patients obtaining the medicine they need.
Washingtonians deserve access to safe, regulated cannabis. Don’t miss the opportunity to have your voice heard at Friday’s historic hearing. Please share this message with your friends and family in the District!
- Take Action: Urge your state legislators to support a compassionate medical cannabis program!
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D.C.: Historic hearing to legalize cannabis sales scheduled for Friday!
D.C. Council Approves Sealing Court Records for Nonviolent Marijuana Offenses
According to the Washington Post, residents of the nation’s capital who have been convicted of nonviolent marijuana offenses could apply to have those criminal records sealed under a bill granted initial approval by the D.C. City Council yesterday.
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David Grosso[/caption]
D.C. Council member David Grosso (I-At Large) introduced the record-sealing bill. He believes it is a matter of fairness to give prior offenders some ability to rid their records of nonviolent offenses now that marijuana possession has been decriminalized in the District and both voters and City Council are considering making marijuana legal for adults.
“People who have had these issues in the past, it never leaves them,” Grosso said. “They have to check the box [indicating a prior conviction]. They can’t get a job. They can’t get public housing. They can’t get financial aid for college.”
Under the terms of the bill, D.C. residents could file a motion to seal their records in the D.C. Superior Court. The motion should be granted unless prosecutors demonstrate that the offense in question remains a crime. If the motion is granted, prosecutors and courts would have to remove public records related to the resident’s arrest, charge, trial, or conviction.
The measure passed 12 to 0 and is up for a second vote set for later this month. According to Grosso and data compiled by the Drug Policy Alliance, it is among the broadest efforts to allow marijuana records to be sealed within the country.
Poll Shows a Record 65 Percent of Washington, D.C. Voters Support Ballot Initiative 71
The Huffington Post reported that voters seem ready to make marijuana legal in the nation’s capital, according to a new poll that puts support for Initiative 71 at 65 percent.
On November 4, Washington, D.C. voters will make their decision on Initiative 71, which would legalize adult marijuana use, possession of up to two ounces, and home cultivation of up to six marijuana plants for personal use. The sale of marijuana, however, would still remain illegal under D.C. law.
The NBC4/Washington Post/Marist poll’s finding that district voters support legalization by almost a 2-1 margin “is the highest support ever for a marijuana legalization ballot initiative,” Adam Eidinger, chair of D.C. Cannabis Campaign, the group backing the legalization measure, said in a statement. “It vindicates the work of this campaign so far, but we still have more work to do turning out the vote come Election Day.”
Even so, the new poll suggests that D.C. will be a leader in combating the racial disparity in marijuana enforcement by making the use, possession, and cultivation of marijuana legal for adult residents.
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Dr. Malik Burnett[/caption]
“Voters are relating to the message that legalization will end D.C.’s rampant discrimination when it comes to marijuana enforcement,” said Dr. Malik Burnett, D.C. Policy Manager for the Drug Policy Alliance.
The D.C. City Council is considering a separate bill that would allow the regulation and taxation of marijuana. If and when that bill passes, the Marijuana Policy Project will be working with the D.C. Council and local advocates to develop a system of well-regulated retail sales.