The Jan. 7 editorial "Clouded judgment" regurgitated the same tired argument that the District is moving too fast to change discriminatory cannabis laws. But as council member Brianne K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1) said, there is no emergency that warrants a ban. Beginning July 17, 2014, the day the D.C. Council's decriminalization law went into effect, it stopped being a criminal offense to have cannabis clubs in the District. It wasn't a criminal offense to have private events, where the public is not invited and cannabis could be used behind closed doors. The decriminalization law says that the smell of cannabis is not probable cause for police action. Private cannabis clubs could have been created before Initiative 71 was voted on, but they weren't. By rubber-stamping the mayor's ban, the council inadvertently created the "smokeasy," a private residence where adults consume cannabis together. Is this the "unintended consequence" of poorly crafted emergency legislation? It's a hallmark of poor governance to enact laws to solve a problem that doesn't exist. By banning cannabis-using adults from gathering at private venues, the council created a problem. [continues 54 words]
The Post's Sept. 15 editorial on Initiative No. 71 was aptly headlined "Just say no," recalling Nancy Reagan's message to kids in the 1980s, since it read like an artifact of prohibitionist thinking. Initiative No. 71 would legalize the use of marijuana only for adults and would not make it legal to sell marijuana. That would be up to the D.C. Council to implement. The Post incorrectly surmised that the council rejected legalization by passing decriminalization. The consensus on the council is that the will of the voters should determine whether the District adopts legalization. Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), author of the decriminalization law, and others have expressed this view to the D.C. Cannabis Campaign. [continues 77 words]
Editor -- The sanctioned distribution of medical marijuana to seriously ill people by the Santa Cruz City Council Tuesday was the most inspiring act of direct action by elected officials I have seen in a long time. While patients across the nation are preparing for more DEA raids on cannabis cooperatives by moving operations underground (or out into the open as in Santa Cruz), thousands of people are expected to travel to Sacramento Monday to protest the federal sentencing of Bryan Epis. [continues 90 words]
THE sanctioned distribution of medical marijuana to seriously ill people by the Santa Cruz City Council (Page 1A, Sept. 18) was the most inspiring act of direct action by elected officials I have seen in a long time. While patients across the nation are preparing for more Drug Enforcement Agency raids on cannabis cooperatives by moving operations underground (or out in the open as in Santa Cruz), thousands of people are expected to travel to Sacramento this Monday to protest the federal sentencing of Bryan Epis. He is the first person to be convicted by federal authorities for operating the Chico Medical Marijuana Caregivers. At his trial, the jury was instructed to disregard testimony regarding compliance with California law or his own medical necessity. He is expected to receive a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years. This witch hunt of the sick and their caregivers is immoral and is the result of a drug war run amok. Now is the time for people to stand up and fight back. Adam Eidinger Americans for Safe Access Washington, D.C. [end]
