[1] 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.

[4][5] Nearly a year passed before a lawsuit[6] filed by the American Civil Liberties Union eventually revealed the initiative had received 69% of the vote.

[10] In March 2002, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan struck down this portion of the Barr Amendment as being an unconstitutional restriction on free speech.

[10][11] Barr criticized the ruling, arguing the court had ignored Congress' constitutional right to pass laws protecting citizens from "dangerous and addictive narcotics.

[13][14] In 2009, both the United States Senate and House of Representatives voted to lift the ban against a medical marijuana initiative, effectively overturning the Barr Amendment.