Pubdate: Fri, 08 Aug 2014
Source: Washington Times (DC)
Copyright: 2014 The Washington Times, LLC.
Contact:  http://www.washingtontimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/492
Page: B2

HIGH TIMES IN D.C.

A November Referendum Could Make the District a Farm Territory

Washington's corridors of power may soon reek of something more
pungent than mendacity. D.C. voters will decide on Nov. 4 whether the
nation's capital will join several jurisdictions across American to
legalize marijuana.

Unlike Colorado, where pot is now on supermarket shelves with corn
flakes, corn meal and other groceries, the D.C. ballot initiative
decriminalizes only possession. Each adult in a household may grow
"three mature cannabis plants" for his own use and keep two ounces of
weed in his pockets at a time, enough to roll a couple of dozen
joints. Sharing reefer is allowed; buying and selling is not.

It's odd that the hemp craze sweeps over a city that only a few years
ago banished smoking. Lighting up a cigarette is considered the mark
of a pariah. Such conduct is not allowed inside an office, a bar or
tavern or in public buildings. Apart from a small ghetto out front,
far from the entrance, it's mostly not allowed outside, either.

When Rep. Nancy Pelosi, San Francisco Democrat, became speaker of the
House, her first order of business was to prohibit nicotine in the
Speaker's Lobby off the House floor. Even chain-smoking John A.
Boehner didn't dare repeal the prohibition when he replaced her.

There are advantages in the proposal. Marijuana farming may give idle
federal workers something to do on the job, tending window boxes. As
our Jim McElhatton reports, a Federal Communications Commission worker
said he was so bored he didn't know what else to do but spend hours
and hours on the job each week surfing porn websites. Treasury
Department investigators found a worker who diligently inspected
13,000 pornographic images over the course of six weeks.

Anti-drug warriors don't want to see Washington become the location
for a Cheech and Chong movie, but zealotry must take some of the blame
for this initiative, which is in part a backlash against the
single-minded focus of certain prosecutors on going after low-level
offenders.

Out of the 142,191 men and women arrested in Washington between 2009
and 2011, 96 percent were nonviolent offenders. The Washington
Lawyers' Committee says 1 of every 5 cases were about drugs, usually
simple possession of marijuana, and the offender was almost always
black.

It's not like there's a shortage of murder, rape, burglary or assault
in the city. Most residents prefer cops to focus on dangerous felons
instead of filling the jail with people trying to get high. This is,
after all, the city with such a deep well of forgiveness that it
restored Marion Barry to city hall after the man who thought he was
mayor for life was caught on video smoking crack.

Dope aficionados are still not home free, as Congress may spike the
results of the referendum. The House last month voted for language
that Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, a doctor and a Republican,
introduced. "I took an oath to do no harm," he says, "and
decriminalizing marijuana will harm D.C. residents, especially teens."

Since Congress has the final say on legislation for the District of
Columbia, it can pull the plug on dope. If it does, we suggest that it
add a rider to the legislation requiring the aldermen to take down
their revenue cameras. The cameras cause accidents.
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MAP posted-by: Matt