District of Columbia city council to vote on decriminalizing pot

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

District of Columbia city council to vote on decriminalizing pot

WASHINGTON Tue Feb 4, 2014 7:08am EST

(Reuters) - The District of Columbia's city council will vote on Tuesday on whether to decriminalize marijuana in a move that could make smoking a joint a violation comparable to a parking ticket.

The bill is expected to pass the first of two votes required for legislation in the district, since eight of the council's 13 members have sponsored the measure, and Democratic Mayor Vincent Gray has said he favors it.

The decriminalization law could face scrutiny from Congress, which has constitutional oversight over the capital.

Morgan Fox, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, a U.S. advocacy group, however, said there has been no sign the House of Representatives' Oversight Committee would oppose the measure. A committee spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/04/us-usa-marijuana-districtofcolumbia-idUSBREA130MK20140204

[RainDog]

1. good news! n/t

[Chathamization]

2. There's also going to be a push for legalization

but it's going to be quite a bit harder. Councilmember Grosso has stated multiple times that he's committed to pushing legalization, but there probably aren't the votes for it - yet. A ballot initiative for soft legalization (you can grow up to three plants, and give away marijuana but not sell it) is in the works too.