Chaos D.C.: Marijuana Becomes Legal Next Week Without Regulations
The District of Columbia’s recently passed voter Initiative 71, which legalized the growing, possession and use of cannabis in Washington DC, has nearly survived its one month congressional review and the recent law is set to take action within next week. Shortly, people 21 and older will be able to have up to two ounces of pot in there possession, cultivate six plants in their backyard, and give pot away to friends without risking the consequence of a law enforcement raid. Though, an article published Monday in The Washington Post stated “chaos” could burst in the beginning of legalizing marijuana because the federal government has halted the D.C. Council from experimenting with a regulatory system to structure the market from coming unhinged.
The issue, at least understood in the minds of some District lawmakers, is that while marijuana has reached legal stature in the backyard of the White House, there is sure to be an rise in borderline black market dealings because the law does not come linked with regulations to accommodate consumers in the legal investment of marijuana. “Where can it be bought? Sold? Eaten? Smoked? We’re not going to have answers to any of that, and that makes me very concerned,” D.C. Council member David Grosso stated to the Post. “And as the consequences play out in the nation’s capital, he said, it could set back the entire movement: “Let’s be responsible about how we do this so we don’t have a negative image coming out.”
Unlike Colorado, marijuana users in the D.C. will not have the advantage of buying pot at a local marijuana shop. However, reports reveal that plans have already begun for marijuana clubs, which will give members with recreational cannabis for a yearly fee, although there are rumors that catered marijuana cuisine, paid for through donations, shall be provided throughout the city. Tiffany Bowden with Comfy-Tree, one of the organizers of a Marijuana Expo set to get initiated later this month on Capitol Hill, stated these types of businesses are only the starting point for the cannabis market in Washington D.C. “The District will be unique because you can’t technically sell cannabis directly,” she stated. “All that means is the traditional dispensary model as we know it will not happen. But that doesn’t mean the cannabis industry is going to be asleep. It’s actually going to be thriving in Washington.”
This off beat direction from the traditional model, like the system developed in Colorado, is what some assume will lead to Chaos inour nations capital – all due to Congress’ eagerness to interfere with the District’s cannabis laws. The concern is that industrious minds have read between the lines of the initiative and are getting ready to get a portion of the clearly non-existent market share when the law comes to pass on February 26. According to the Post, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine is showing law enforcement how to go about the new law, but there are still so many unanswered questions, especially in connection to marijuana consumption and the definition of “remuneration.” In fact, during a recent sit down with Mayor Muriel Bowser, Council member Grosso asked her what would happen to a person if apprehended from using pot outside of a “cannabis club,” and she was unable to give clear answer.
Interestingly, Initiative 71 was picked up to influence growing marijuana from home, and was in no way intended to be a stepping-stone to a retail marijuana market. However, while the capitals lawmakers are hurting in their attempts to establish a taxed and regulated cannabis market for at least the next year, it looks like entrepreneurs are gearing up to push the envelope of the law in order to capitalize on marijuana once it is officially legal… but will this prove toe chaos? Obstacles, possibly, but surely nothing beyond a reasonable answer.
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