Columbia legalizes pot despite threats from Congress
On Tuesday, Alaska also implemented a voter initiative legalizing the private use, sharing and cultivation of recreational pot, but lawmakers there won't implement the next phase - creating a regulated market where legal marijuana can be sold and taxed - until 2016 at least. (Photo: Reuters / Archive )
Defying threats from Congress, the District of
Columbia legalized possession of marijuana for recreational purposes on
Thursday, becoming the first place east of the Mississippi River with legal
pot.
The new law took
effect at 12:01 a.m., despite last-minute maneuvers by Republican leaders in
Congress and threats that city leaders could face prison time. Democratic Mayor
Muriel Bowser, who took office in January, said it was her duty to implement
the initiative city voters approved overwhelmingly in November.
"This is a
major milestone on the road to ending marijuana prohibition in the United
States," said Robert Capecchi of the Marijuana Policy Project, which
advocates for legalization. "If the president can brew and drink beer in
the White House, adults should be allowed to grow and consume a less harmful
substance in their houses."
Possession of up
to 2 ounces of pot for use at home is now legal, and people are also permitted
to grow up to three mature plants. Smoking marijuana in public remains illegal,
as does buying or selling the drug.
On Tuesday,
Alaska also implemented a voter initiative legalizing the private use, sharing
and cultivation of recreational pot, but lawmakers there won't implement the
next phase - creating a regulated market where legal marijuana can be sold and
taxed - until 2016 at least.
The District's
initiative, approved by 65 percent of the voters in November, only addressed
personal possession, not taxation or regulation, and District leaders
acknowledge that Congress blocked any effort to implement a legal marijuana
market. But they believe Congress acted too late to stop legalization for
private use.
Rep. Jason
Chaffetz, a Utah Republican who chairs the House Oversight Committee, urged
Bowser in a letter late Tuesday to reconsider. He said that the mayor and any other
district employees who spend money or time implementing any aspect of the
initiative could face prison time for violating federal law.
"The
penalties are severe, and we're serious about this. Nobody's wishing or wanting
that to happen, but the law is clear," Chaffetz told the AP.
Bowser responded
sharply even as she tried to ratchet down the conflict.
"Bullying
the District of Columbia is not what his constituents expect, nor do
ours," Bowser said. "We do disagree on a matter of law. There are
reasonable ways to resolve that without us threatening him or he us."
It would be up to
the Justice Department, not Congress, to prosecute District officials, and that
scenario appears unlikely. However, Congress could sue the city, and House
Republicans also could retaliate by pulling federal funding for city programs.
Rep. Mark
Meadows, a Republican from North Carolina, co-signed the letter to Bowser late
Tuesday, which warned that by spending money to change pot laws, District
officials would violate the Anti-Deficiency Act, which prohibits spending of
unappropriated federal dollars. The oversight committee also demanded to see
all District documents detailing money spent and time put in by city employees
to implement the initiative.
No one has ever
been convicted of violating the Anti-Deficiency Act, although city and federal
workers and agencies have been punished administratively for violations.
Jamie Raskin, a
constitutional law professor at American University, characterized the threat
of criminal prosecution as "a lot of huffing and puffing on Capitol
Hill."
"The real
power Congress has is the power of the purse," said Raskin, who also
serves as a Democratic state senator in Maryland. "They can exact their
retribution financially against the District."
Congress hasn't
struck down a specific city law in 25 years. Instead, members often add
language to critical pieces of federal legislation to undo city policies they
don't like. The language on pot was included in a spending bill President
Barack Obama signed to keep the government running.