Washington DC approves marijuana decriminalization

According to a Bloomberg report, the city council of Washington agreed on a vote to reduce criminality of using marijuana in private homes.

The report said that the city will no longer jail individuals who have up to an ounce of marijuana in their possession and instead only impose a fine. Democrat and city mayor Vincent Gray reportedly expressed his intention to sign the bill once it reaches him. From there, Bloomberg said that the bill will have a greater chance of getting passed unless the US Congress rejects it.

In a statement, Council Member Tommy Wells, who is also a Democrat, said, "This is a victory for social justice and a major step for the nation's capital. This bill is a tremendous stride to end the disproportionate impact of marijuana arrests that keep our residents from jobs, higher education and housing opportunities."

Bloomberg said that a minimum of 17 states in the US have decriminalized or legalized the use or possession of marijuana for recreational purposes. Aside from Washington, Colorado had legalized the sale of marijuana for recreational purposes, and supporters are looking to replicate the legal effort in other states.

It has been noted that the federal government are looking for ways to reduce the number of inmates in prisons, and that the reduction of criminality in using marijuana is one of the steps the government has taken. On the other hand, Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton's spokesman Daniel van Hoogstraten, said that the US Congress has the capacity to overturn Washington legislation. Bloomberg said the US Congress has oversight over the District of Columbia.

Nonetheless, Norton had said in a statement that she would be defending the proposed marijuana legislation from anyone who had attempted to block it. "I do not expect members of Congress to interfere with D.C.'s local right to pass its own law on marijuana decriminalization. If members try to interfere, however, I will stoutly defend D.C.'s right to pass such legislation, just as 17 states have already done," Norton stated.

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Washington Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton, District of Columbia

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