The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Mike
Meno, MPP director of communications 202-905-2030
or 443-927-6400

D.C. Medical Marijuana Law Clears Congressional Hurdle

Congress Takes No Action to Overturn D.C. Council Bill; Officials Now Tasked With Establishing Regulations, Taking Dispensary Applications

WASHINGTON

According
to District of Columbia Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District's
medical marijuana law cleared a mandatory 30-day Congressional review
period Monday night, after Congress declined to take action against a
D.C. Council bill that allows the District to license between five and
eight medical marijuana dispensaries. Norton made the announcement on
Tuesday. The District will join 14 states across the country in having
effective medical marijuana laws.

This historic development comes almost 12 years
after 69 percent of District voters approved a referendum on medical
marijuana in 1998. Congress had blocked the law's implementation until
last year. Now the District Department of Health and Mayor Adrian Fenty
are tasked with developing a set of regulations for dispensaries that
will be licensed to distribute medical marijuana to qualified patients.
Medical marijuana is not fully legal yet, as the new law allows
qualified patients to legally possess marijuana only if it comes from a
licensed dispensary.

"After thwarting the will of District voters
for more than a decade, Congress is no longer standing in the way of
effective relief for D.C. residents who struggle with chronic ailments,"
said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project.
"This moment is a long overdue victory for both D.C. home rule and the
wellbeing of District residents whose doctors believe medical marijuana
can help ease their pain."

Under the bill, patients who are suffering from
chronic conditions including HIV/AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, and multiple
sclerosis, and receive a recommendation from their doctor will be able
to obtain safe access to medical marijuana through a system of licensed
dispensaries. A task force will be charged with, among other things,
recommending additional conditions, such as PTSD or severe, chronic pain
to the list of qualifying conditions. Unlike the laws in 13 out of 14
medical marijuana states, patients will not be allowed to grow their own
medicine, though the task force will also examine the issue of home
cultivation. Medical marijuana will be subject to the city's 6 percent
sales tax.

The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is the number one organization in the U.S. legalizing cannabis. We passed 13 medical cannabis laws in the past 15 years, and we ran winning campaigns in eight of the 11 legalization states. No organization in the movement has changed as many cannabis laws, impacted as many patients and consumers, created as many new markets, or done more to end cannabis prohibition in the U.S. than MPP.