Steve Burns
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL)– A temporary ban on marijuana consumption outside one’s home could move to permanence today following a vote by the Council of the District of Columbia. The ban has split the Council down the middle, with marijuana advocates saying it threatens to cede even more power over the District to Congress while clinging to outdated “Prohibitionist” mentalities.
“There’s a lot of people that don’t have a safe, private space to consume. There’s going to be people who are not allowed to under their lease agreement,” Kaitlyn Boecker with the Drug Policy Alliance told WMAL. “Anyone who resides in subsidized housing is not allowed to. They could face eviction.”
A Task Force was established as part of a compromise by the Council in February to study options for public consumption, and Boecker said a permanent ban would tie the Task Force’s hands and render it useless before it even holds its first meeting.
“I believe a lot of this is coming from a Prohibitionist mentality. It’s outdated drug policy. It’s relying on the same drug policy tactics we’ve seen fail time and time again,” Boecker said. “We’ve seen they only lead to bad consequences. They lead to racial disparities in arrests, increased arrests and incarceration, increased costs, wasted time and resources for our law enforcement officers.”
She also said it would repeal an exemption for medical marijuana facilities. Patients would need to bring marijuana home from the medical facility before consuming it.
Council Chairman Phil Mendelson previously said at a hearing he believes the Task Force’s duties are more broad. He was not available for comment prior to today’s vote.
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