Pubdate: Mon, 14 Dec 2009
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Page: B01
Copyright: 2009 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: James Hohmann and Tim Craig, Washington Post Staff Writer
Referenced: Initiative 59 http://drugsense.org/url/uk8Qvdmn
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/District+of+Columbia
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis - Medicinal - United States)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?137 (Needle Exchange)

VOTE MOVES D.C. CLOSER TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA

The U.S. Senate passed a bill Sunday that clears the way for the 
District government to allow medical marijuana use and to spend local 
tax dollars to help low-income women pay for abortions.

More than a decade ago, D.C. voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot 
measure that would allow for the possession, use, cultivation and 
distribution of marijuana if recommended by a physician for serious illnesses.

Initiative 59 passed with 69 percent of the vote in 1998, but before 
it could take effect, Congress passed legislation banning the 
practice in the District.

The latest bill, which passed the House on Thursday, also continues 
to allow needle-exchange programs in a bid to limit the spread of HIV 
and AIDS, a strategy that Congress had blocked in the District until 
2007. It also provides $752 million in federal funds for the District 
as part of a larger spending package.

"This is the biggest win for home rule in decades," said Del. Eleanor 
Holmes Norton (D-D.C.).

President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law this week.

The District would join Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, 
Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont 
and Washington in allowing medical marijuana.

D.C. Council member David A. Catania (I-At Large), chairman of the 
Health Committee, supports medical marijuana but said city leaders 
will proceed with caution.

"I wouldn't expect it to be implemented anytime soon, because we are 
going to need to do thoughtful planning," he said, noting that 
guidelines must be written about who can grow, distribute and receive 
marijuana.

First, though, the District might need to submit the text of the 
voter initiative for a 30-day legislative review. During that window, 
Congress could take the unlikely step of blocking the initiative. If 
no action is taken, the District government can issue regulations.

Aaron Houston, director of government relations for the Marijuana 
Policy Project, said he thinks medical marijuana could be available 
in the District by the end of 2010. "They don't have to start over," 
Houston said.

A federal law known as the Hyde Amendment has barred the District and 
states from using federal money to fund abortions, but states are 
free to use local tax dollars to cover the cost of the procedure for 
women who cannot otherwise afford it. Private donations have helped 
some D.C. women, but supporters of abortion rights say many have been 
turned away from clinics and hospitals because the District 
government has had no financing for abortions.

The bill also allows the District to continue using local tax dollars 
to fund needle-exchange programs that provide clean syringes to 
addicts, part of an effort to stem the spread of AIDS. In 2007, 
Congress ended a decade-long prohibition against city funding, 
allowing the D.C. HIV/AIDS Administration to provide four nonprofit 
agencies with $700,000 to distribute needles in areas where drug 
trafficking is common.

For years, the District has fought what residents see as intrusions 
into city business by representatives from elsewhere. The city's 
largely Democratic leadership has complained that times were 
particularly tough when Republicans were in charge.

"It's hard to rank these riders except by lives lost," Norton said. 
"In lives lost, needle exchange [restrictions] would rank as the most lethal."

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) said the Senate vote demonstrates how much 
the working relationship between the city and Congress has improved 
since Democrats took over.

"The District has come a long way," he said. "The support from 
Congress to the District is at an all-time high. We're glad about the 
substantive issues." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake