Stop Digging, Mr. Mendelson!

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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