On January 4 the DC City Council, in a notorious cave-in to Mayor Bowser, quickly reversed its decision to end the ban on the smoking of marijuana in public establishments, setting the stage for the emergence of underground “smokeasies” for people unable to smoke in their own homes, such as poor tenants in Section 8 housing, or regular apartment tenants restricted by rental agreements.

DCMJ.org posted on January 5:

The January 4th Legislative Meeting of the DC Council was a rollercoaster. First the DC Council voted to #LetTheBanExpire, then the Mayor called members of the DC Council and told them to have a revote on the ban, and after the second vote the DC Council renewed the ban on social cannabis use…

Sounds like we lost, but we didn’t. Here’s why: the DC Council is going to amend the ban before it becomes permanent law. We believe the amended version will be less broad and carve out exceptions for adult use outside of private residences. In the meantime, nothing changes- the ban from 2015 is in place for at least 90 more days, but we now have the opportunity to fix the law before it becomes permanent, but we need everyone to step up their efforts and lobby the DC Council about the need to #AmendTheBan.

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Continue reading "Stop Digging, Mr. Mendelson!" »

According to this report on WAMU-FM here in DC, the latest Congressional spending bill prevents the District Of Columbia from funding abortion services for poor women and regulating and taxing the sale of marijuana. They did, however, repeal the ban on sledding on the Capitol grounds, after a vigorous local outcry last winter.

Apparently, they’re still hurting from all the bad publicity they caught with the sledding ban, but could care less about all the ill will they get by restricting women’s healthcare rights and the right to tax and regulate a plant that’s been legal for nearly a year. Still, there’s prime sledding opening up on the hill at the West Front, so there’s that.

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Continue reading "Hoorah, sledding!" »

From the latest post at DCMJ.org:

Even though Initiative 71 legalized cannabis, it cannot be consumed anywhere in DC other than in a private home. This is because, the week after Initiative 71 took effect, the DC Council passed emergency legislation (Act 21-149) that banned marijuana consumption at any bar, nightclub, bingo hall, or private venue in Washington, DC. Without any pressing reason, the Mayor and the DC Council severely restricted our rights as cannabis consuming adults…

Yeah, that’s right, fellow Washingtonians. You can legally drink at an alcohol bar, you can legally smoke cigars at a cigar bar, but if you want to smoke weed communally in a similar setting, you’ll have to open a speakeasy — unless the DC City Council stops doing Congress’ dirty work, and Act 21-149 is allowed to expire on January 15 next year.

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Continue reading "Speakeasies: Then And Now" »

As you may recall from this past spring, my longtime comrade and BBF (Best Bud Forever) Adam Eidinger, activist extraordinaire, was jailed for basically being disrespectful to a politician at a Congressional DC Oversight Committee hearing chaired by the pompous and pasty Jason Chaffetz.

Adam’s recent trial on this bogus charge ended in a mistrial last week, and a retrial has been scheduled for May 2nd.

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Continue reading "Freedom Finger" »