State of Cannabis: Washington D.C.

State of Cannabis: Washington D.C.

Thisis provingto be a big year for cannabis. As a result, we are ranking the fifty states from worst to best on how they treat cannabis and those who consume it. Each of our State of Cannabis posts will analyze one state and our final post will crown the best state for cannabis. As is always the case, but particularly so with this series, we welcome your comments. As a result of the overwhelming success of many cannabis initiatives this November, all the remaining states in this series have legalized the adult use of recreational marijuana.

With four states remaining Alaska, California, Oregon and Washington we deviate from our regular format of ranking the actual states and we instead turn to the District of Columbia. Thispost will examine the Districts cannabis laws and focus on how the federal government has made implementing those laws in D.C. so difficult.

Our state rankings are as follows: 5. Alaska; 6. Massachusetts; 7. Maine; 8. New Mexico; 9. Nevada; 10. Hawaii; 11. Maryland; 12. Connecticut; 13. Vermont; 14. Rhode Island; 15. Kentucky; 16.Pennsylvania; 17.Delaware; 18. Michigan; 19. New Hampshire; 20. Ohio; 21.New Jersey; 22.Illinois;23.Minnesota; 24.New York; 25.Wisconsin; 26.Arizona; 27.West Virginia; 28.Indiana; 29.North Carolina; 30.Utah; 31.South Carolina; 32.Tennessee; 33.North Dakota; 34.Georgia; 35.Louisiana; 36.Mississippi; 37.Nebraska; 38.Missouri;39.Florida; 40.Arkansas; 41.Montana;42.Iowa; 43.Virginia; 44.Wyoming; 45.Texas; 46.Kansas; 47.Alabama; 48.Idaho; 49.Oklahoma; 50.South Dakota.

Washington D.C.

Recreational Marijuana.On November 4, 2014, voters in Washington D.C. approved Initiative 71, allowing individuals 21 and older to legally possess, use, purchase, or transport up to two ounces of marijuana within the District. The initiative also permits individuals to legally possess, grow, and harvest up to six marijuana plants in their principal residence, with no more than three flowering plants at one time. However, the initiative did not directly address cannabis sales. Instead, Initiative 71 called for the city council to draft regulations for marijuana retail sales.

Those regulations were never drafted due to interference by the federal government. Congress possesses budgetary oversight for Washington D.C. and it has used that spending power to frustrate Initiative 71s implementation. In December 2014, U.S. Congressional members included a rider in the U.S. federal spending bill prohibiting the use of federal funds towards any efforts to implement Initiative 71. Despite this, D.C city officials and the mayor pledged to move forward with legalization. Eventually, members of Congress actually threatened D.C.s mayor with criminal penaltiesfor implementing legalization.

Amidst legaluncertainty, legalization in D.C. nonetheless went into effect in February 2015. The threats by Congressional members were somewhat effective though because the D.C. City Council has yet to createregulations necessary for a truly functioning legal recreational marketplace in our nations capital. In D.C., cannabis is legal to possess and cultivate, but not to buy or sell. The Districts recreational marijuana market has operated in this gray area since cannabis was legalized. With Republicans now controlling both our nations House and Senate, our cannabis lawyers do not see the Washington D.C.sbetwixt and betweensituation changing anytime soon.

Medical marijuana. Washington D.C.s medical marijuana market is currently operational after years of delay. Voters legalized medical marijuana in 1998. But just as it did with Initiative 71, Congress stalled the process by limiting D.C.s use of federal funds to get its medical cannabis program off the ground. Cannabis dispensaries did not start selling medical marijuana in D.C. legally until 2013.Washington D.C.s Department of Health summarizes its medical cannabis program as follows:

All qualifying patients have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes when his or her primary physician has provided a written recommendation that bears his or her signature and license number. This recommendation must assert that the use of marijuana is medically necessary for the patient for the treatment of a qualifying medical condition or to mitigate the side effects of a qualifying medical treatment.

Unlike many states, D.C. does not have a list of qualifying conditions, meaning that doctors have the freedom to recommend cannabis for a wide range of medical conditions.

D.C. patients and ...

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