Pubdate: Wed, 30 Apr 2014
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2014 The Washington Post Company
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/mUgeOPdZ
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Page: A18

BLUNT INTERFERENCE

Why Is Congress Holding a Hearing on D.C.'S Marijuana
Decriminalization?

A CONGRESSIONAL subcommittee is planning a hearing on the District's
recent move to decriminalize marijuana as part of a "broader
examination" of the issue.

We agree that the growing tension between federal marijuana laws and
laws in many local jurisdictions merits a national discussion. But,
like D.C. officials, we are wary that the District is being singled
out and that the interests of local residents again could fall victim
to congressional interference.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's Subcommittee
on Government Operations is set to hold a hearing next month on a bill
passed by the D.C. Council and signed by Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D)
that eliminates criminal penalties for the possession of small amounts
of marijuana.

No sooner had word leaked out about the hearing than Del. Eleanor
Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) wondered why there was congressional interest
in the District and not in the 18 states that have decriminalized
marijuana. "This is a local issue," Mr. Gray said at an April 23 news
conference, "They're not having hearings on any laws in Chicago or Los
Angeles or New York, are they?" No, nor on Maryland, where lawmakers
took steps to decriminalize marijuana about the same time as the District.

What distinguishes D.C. from these other jurisdictions, as Ms. Norton
said in a statement, is "Congress's illegitimate power to overturn the
democratically enacted local laws of the District." The
decriminalization act is undergoing a 60-day legislative review and
will take effect at the end of that period unless disapproved by
Congress and the president.

The last time a local law was overturned was in 1991, but Congress
could use policy riders on appropriations bills to block
implementation of the law, as it did with D.C. laws on medical
marijuana and abortions for low-income women.

A spokeswoman for the subcommittee pointed to a March 4 hearing in
which the U.S. attorney for Colorado testified about enforcement of
federal drug laws in a state where marijuana is now legal as evidence
of the larger inquiry being conducted, as The Post's Mike DeBonis
reported. It's unclear who was invited or who will testify at the D.C.
hearing, tentatively set for May 8. We hope the subcommittee will be
interested in why the District took this action: racial disparities
and ruined lives that go with criminal penalties for a small amount of
pot. Even better, the legislators might better spend their time
bringing federal drug laws into line with the growing number of states
that have eliminated criminal penalties.
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MAP posted-by: Matt