Cannabis in Washington, D.C.

In Washington, D.C., cannabis is legal for both medical use and recreational use for possession, personal use, cultivation, transportation and gifting, and for retail sale once a regulatory system is implemented following an affirmative vote by the residents on a 2014 ballot initiative.

[3][4] In 1906, Congress introduced An act to regulate the practice of pharmacy and the sale of poisons in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes, requiring that certain medicines, including cannabis, be limited to licensed pharmacists and prescribed.

[6] Though the initiative passed with 69% of the vote in November 1998, its implementation was delayed by Congress's passage of the Barr Amendment, which prohibited DC from using its funds in support of the program.

[10] In a January 2014 poll by The Washington Post, roughly eight in 10 city residents supported legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana.

[11] The Harris amendment bans the D.C. government from spending any funds on efforts to lessen penalties for Schedule I federal drug crimes.

The legalization measure allows for the sale of marijuana by licensed retailers but no regulatory system has been implemented due to Congressional opposition.

Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton said that "she was told by Democratic budget negotiators that the omission was made on purpose to give city leaders a chance to argue that in moving forward, the District is only carrying out, and not enacting, the measure.

[28][29] On January 13, 2015, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson sent the measure to Congress for a mandatory 30-day review period,[30] in accordance with the District of Columbia Home Rule Act.

[27] On February 24, 2015, Representatives Jason Chaffetz and Mark Meadows sent a letter to Bowser urging her to not move forward with Initiative 71.

[31][32] Congressional Republicans, including the omnibus rider author's Andy Harris, threatened prison time for the D.C. mayor and others involved, suggesting that they could be prosecuted by the Justice Department under the Antideficiency Act, which "imposes criminal penalties on government employees who knowingly spend public funds in excess of their appropriated budgets.

[41] Although D.C. law prohibits the selling of cannabis, a number of entrepreneurs have sought to exploit the legal gray area around the drug.