Pubdate: Sun, 03 Nov 2013
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)
Copyright: 2013 Associated Press
Contact:  http://www.philly.com/inquirer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/340
Author: Ben Nuckols, Associated Press

D.C. EXPECTED TO EASE CITY'S POT LAW

Possession of Less Than an Ounce Would Merit a Fine.

WASHINGTON - It took nearly 15 years after voters approved medical 
marijuana for it to become available in the District of Columbia, but 
the next major change to pot laws in the nation's capital is on the fast track.

The D.C. Council is poised to approve a bill that would decriminalize 
possession of small amounts of pot, and Democratic Mayor Vincent Gray 
announced last month that he supports it. He could sign the bill into 
law as early as January.

Some activists want the city to go further by legalizing, taxing, and 
regulating marijuana as Colorado and Washington state do, and they're 
considering a ballot initiative if council doesn't take that step.

It's a big change from a year ago, when there was no medical 
marijuana in the capital and elected officials weren't talking about 
relaxing recreational pot laws. Now, there are three tightly 
regulated marijuana dispensaries in the city, although there aren't 
many patients yet.

City leaders have long been cautious about pot, in part because 
Congress has the final say on what's legal in the district. But with 
17 states having some form of decriminalization and the Justice 
Department taking a hands-off approach to legalization in Colorado 
and Washington state, city leaders think Congress won't be interested 
in fighting that battle.

"What the states do would not matter if there were serious interest 
in the subject" on Capitol Hill, said Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, 
a Democrat who represents the district in Congress. "I don't think 
there's a serious interest in the subject."

The new sense of urgency has been fueled in part by two studies 
released this year that found large racial disparities in marijuana 
arrests in the city. Black people were eight times more likely to be 
arrested than white people in the district in 2010, the American 
Civil Liberties Union found, and 91 percent of those arrested that 
year were black. About half of the city's 632,000 residents are black.

"We have hundreds of young black men, black boys, being locked up for 
simple possession of a couple bags of marijuana," said Democratic 
Councilman Marion Barry, one of the bill's sponsors. "We don't want 
to be proud of the wrong kind of thing here. We need to stop that 
kind of injustice from happening."

Democrat Paul Zukerberg, a defense attorney who represents people 
charged with marijuana offenses and who campaigned for council in the 
spring on liberalization of marijuana laws, said he was pleased 
members had embraced the issue.

"A lot of things came together," Zukerberg said. "This is a movement 
that's national - in fact, it's an international movement. We're part 
of a larger shift in people's attitudes toward marijuana."

Congress has disapproved of only three pieces of legislation passed 
by the D.C. Council, the last time in 1991.

Even with decriminalization, the district is not about to become a 
pot haven. Possession would still be barred on federal land, which 
encompasses more than 20 percent of the city. And federal law 
enforcement officers - such as the U.S. Park Police or Capitol Police 
- - can make arrests for violations of federal law on local property.

"Decriminalization is a local law," said Janene Jackson, director of 
the mayor's Office on Policy and Legislative Affairs. "We don't want 
people thinking you're free to puff up on federal property. You're 
not, and you will be arrested."

The bill would decriminalize possession of less than 1 ounce of pot. 
Potential fines haven't been finalized, but Democratic Councilman 
Tommy Wells, the bill's lead sponsor, is considering $25. That would 
be less than the civil fines in any state except Alaska, which has none.

No state in the Mid-Atlantic has decriminalized pot. In the district, 
10 of the 13 council members have signaled their support for the 
decriminalization bill.

But Bernard Howard, pastor of a church in Southeast Washington, said 
criminal penalties deter some from smoking marijuana.

"The message is going to be sent that it's really not that bad," he 
said. He said he smoked pot as a teen and moved on to other drugs but 
had been drug-free for 20 years.

"I think it's very detrimental to the psychological development and 
social development of young people that are using marijuana, and 
especially our young black men," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom