Marijuana Election Results 2014
- Thread starter Tommy Dukes
- Start date
GeekyGodiva
Happy Hairy Herbal Faerie
Finally! I was amazed that Oregon was after Washington, but now it's going to be much less nerve wracking to carry my vapes across the river. I hope they have an easier time of making regulations work for the industry like what I hear of Colorado, as opposed to against the industry like Washington's seem to.
grokit
well-worn member
Congress Will Probably Allow Marijuana Legalization in Washington DC
At a press conference Thursday, Washington DC’s congressional delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton encouraged Congress to respect the will of voters and allow marijuana legalization to pass. Norton was joined by congressmen from California, Alaska, and Oregon. Alaska and Oregon also voted to legalize recreational marijuana last week, while California is poised to become the next big state to legalize marijuana in 2016.
Because it is a district, Washington DC’s local laws can be blocked by the federal government. While it has rarely happened in the past, many marijuana advocates speculated that Congress would take steps to block marijuana legalization due to the direct conflict with federal law. However, many backers of Initiative 71 are confident that Congress will probably allow marijuana legalization to become law.
DC Cannabis Campaign communications director Nikolas Schiller said, “We believe that a new Republican Congress will not interfere with something that deals solely with personal liberties.”
In order to have the initiative officially passed into law, Congress must approve it, despite overwhelming support of Initiative 71 from voters. DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson is expected to submit the Initiative to Congress in January when the new Republican Congress is seated.
After the initiative is submitted to Congress, they have 30 legislative days to pass a resolution overriding the measure. If they take no action to override Initiative 71, marijuana legalization will automatically officially pass into law.
Congress could block marijuana legalization by passing a joint resolution disapproving of the initiative or it could ban the district from spending money to implement a recreational marijuana program.
At a press conference Thursday, Washington DC’s congressional delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton encouraged Congress to respect the will of voters and allow marijuana legalization to pass. Norton was joined by congressmen from California, Alaska, and Oregon. Alaska and Oregon also voted to legalize recreational marijuana last week, while California is poised to become the next big state to legalize marijuana in 2016.
Because it is a district, Washington DC’s local laws can be blocked by the federal government. While it has rarely happened in the past, many marijuana advocates speculated that Congress would take steps to block marijuana legalization due to the direct conflict with federal law. However, many backers of Initiative 71 are confident that Congress will probably allow marijuana legalization to become law.
DC Cannabis Campaign communications director Nikolas Schiller said, “We believe that a new Republican Congress will not interfere with something that deals solely with personal liberties.”
In order to have the initiative officially passed into law, Congress must approve it, despite overwhelming support of Initiative 71 from voters. DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson is expected to submit the Initiative to Congress in January when the new Republican Congress is seated.
After the initiative is submitted to Congress, they have 30 legislative days to pass a resolution overriding the measure. If they take no action to override Initiative 71, marijuana legalization will automatically officially pass into law.
Congress could block marijuana legalization by passing a joint resolution disapproving of the initiative or it could ban the district from spending money to implement a recreational marijuana program.