GOP Congressman And D.C. Officials Push To End Federal Ban On Marijuana Sales In Nation’s Capitol

A GOP congressman and local Washington, D.C. officials are criticizing the ongoing federal ban blocking the District from legalizing marijuana sales in the nation’s capital.

During a hearing before a House Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday, Chairman Dave Joyce (R-OH) voiced opposition to a longstanding spending bill rider that prevents D.C. from using its local funds to implement a commercial cannabis market—despite voters approving legalization a decade ago.

Appropriations legislation covering Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) continues to contain the controversial rider that Joyce, who also serves as a co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said he recognizes that some members hope to “review and modify.”

Allowing D.C. to set its own marijuana laws would help to “ensure the District has authority to promote public safety,” the congressman said.

 

Joyce added that “it is worth noting that each of these provisions are based on member requests in response to serious concerns with actions taken, or not taken, by the District,” he said, declining to clarify what that meant with respect to the marijuana-focused rider. “Congress will continue to maintain its Constitutional authority and responsibility to exercise authority over the city’s laws and budget.”

At the hearing, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) also weighed in on the congressionally imposed cannabis restriction, calling it one of the “most damaging” infringements on the District’s autonomy.

“This rider dates back a decade and is responsible for a black market estimated at over $600 million annually,” he said. “Over half the states permit recreational cannabis, but we are the only one that cannot regulate it.”

This is an urgent matter since, as time goes by, not only will it be more difficult to displace the illegal businesses, but in the meantime, the illegal gifting stores attract violent crime due to their cash only nature and the illegality of their activity,” he said, referring to unlicensed retailers that have cropped up that carry out a ruse of “gifting” free marijuana when people purchase other items like t-shirts or drinks.

“Our police try to shut down the illegal stores, and the United States attorney declines to prosecute,” Mendelson said. “The congressional rider has had a negative impact on public safety.”

Joyce also reiterated his concern with hemp-derived cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC that he says are accessible to youth, calling them “crap.” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) said she agreed with the congressman and that certain hemp products that have been made available are “not only crap” but are occasionally “deadly.”

“We know we don’t want our kids or adults buying off market where we can’t assure the authenticity of the product,” she said.

Mendelson also weighed in on the issue, pointing out that, “if we could regulate, we’d have seed-to-sale [tracking of cannabis products]. But we can’t regulate.”

“Where there have been enforcement efforts against these illegal gifting shops, there’s sometimes been testing by the government,” he said. “And we have found, almost always, that there are other substances mixed in with the cannabis. And we’ve also, as I mentioned before, found other drugs that are being sold in those establishments.”

Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) also pressed the D.C. officials, asking Mendelson whether he’d like to see increased federal enforcement for cannabis offenses that violate the district’s rules.

Mendelson affirmed that he would support escalated enforcement, though he clarified that he was speaking about unlicensed “pop-up stores” selling cannabis products under the guise of lawful “gifting.”

“They don’t have a license. They purport to be selling cannabis. Typically, it is laced with other drugs,” he said. “It’s actually dangerous to human health, and when they have been closed down—because we have started to close them down—there will be other drugs that are found, and it’s a real problem.”

“They’re just not getting prosecuted in courts,” he said.

Meanwhile, a new legal analysis published by NORML concluded that if the Biden administration’s ongoing marijuana rescheduling proposal is ultimately implemented, it could “open a door” for D.C. to finally legalize marijuana sales.

While the impact of moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) on individual states would likely be “limited,” maintaining the policy disconnect between state-level legalization and federal prohibition, it could have a more meaningful effect for D.C., the pro-legalization group said.

In a separate report published earlier this year by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), analysts also said that the “proposed rescheduling of marijuana would permit the District government, as a matter of local law, to authorize the commercial sale of recreational marijuana, establish market regulations, and levy marijuana taxes, among other policy option.”

President Joe Biden has consistently maintained the D.C. ban in his budget proposals. And while congressional lawmakers have attempted on several occasions to strip the rider, they’ve so far been unsuccessful.

But whether marijuana is ultimately rescheduled still remains to be seen. The Justice Department formally proposed the reform following a scientific review from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), but the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is now carrying out administrative hearings to solicit additional input before potentially finalizing the rule.

Last week, DEA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) John Mulrooney issued a ruling laying out the timeline for merit-based hearings on the Biden administration’s rescheduling proposal.

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