[caption id="attachment_7039" align="alignright" width="300"] Mayor Vincent Gray[/caption]

On Wednesday, D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray stated that he supports decriminalizing marijuana, or removing criminal penalties associated with possession of under one ounce. Currently, those caught with less than one ounce of marijuana in D.C. can be sent to jail for up to six months and fined up to $1,000, and evidence suggests that the laws have had harsh consequences for D.C. residents. According to a study published in June by the ACLU, black residents in D.C. are eight times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than their white neighbors.

Mayor Gray’s announcement gives more weight to a proposal made by Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) that seeks to remove the harsh criminal penalties associated with marijuana possession and replace them with a civil fine of $100. The proposed bill has the support of a supermajority on the council, and two hearings have been scheduled this week to discuss the measure further.

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The U.S. Senate today passed historic legislation to end the decade-long ban on implementing a medical marijuana law in Washington, D.C. This marks the first time in history Congress has changed a marijuana law for the better. Only Obama’s signature is needed for the change to become law.

This is not only a huge victory for medical marijuana patients in the nation’s capital, it marks a historic shift on the medical marijuana issue nationwide. This is the first time Congress has given its assent to a state or local law that permits medical use of marijuana. Coming on top of the announcement that the Justice Department will no longer interfere with state medical marijuana laws, this shows that the ground has fundamentally shifted.

Before the D.C. law can go into effect, the city council will need to transmit the original 1998 initiative to Congress for a 30-day review period, which is not expected to present an obstacle. The law will take effect at the conclusion of this review, and the D.C. government will then be charged with creating regulations to govern the implementation of the initiative’s language.

It seems that Congress is finally listening to voters, who have supported protection for medical marijuana patients for well over a decade, as well as to the medical community’s growing recognition of marijuana’s medical value. Lifting the ban on D.C.’s law falls far short of sweeping, national reform, but it is surely a sign of good things to come.

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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.

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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.

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