Health officials in Washington, D.C. are urging the city to legalize the distribution of cannabis despite what Congress says. The nation’s capital city ought to “impose state taxes on production, distribution, and sales along with a licensed market participation, age restriction, and prohibitions on advertising and marketing to minors,” according to a recent report from the District of Columbia Department of Health. It also pushes for decision-makers to “use current regulatory models for tobacco and alcohol to base legislation to enact effective marijuana controls.”
D.C.’s mayor as well as the members of the District Council state that they would like to implement marijuana sales, however, federal budget riders enacted not too long ago have stopped them from spending they city’s own money to actually allow it. During the month of April, during consideration of an appropriations bill covering Fiscal Year 2017, House Republicans took steps to push the ban further to stop D.C. officials from being able to circumvent the existing rider using funds that are not touched by the current block. Under this law, the city is not allowed to use money to regulate and legalize sales:
“None of the funds contained in this Act may be used to enact any law, rule, or regulation to legalize or otherwise reduce penalties associated with the possession, use, or distribution of any schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) or any tetrahydrocannabinol derivative for recreational purposes.”
“We hope the D.C. government will move forward now, using reserve funds, to put in place a system of taxation and regulation of cannabis before the Congressional budget is signed into law,” said Nikolas Schiller, co-founder and director of communications for DCMJ, the group that spearheaded the city’s 2014 marijuana ballot initiative. “The people of the District of Columbia deserve the right to purchase taxed and regulated cannabis from licensed stores without Congress interfering.”
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