Cannabis in the capital: Federal haze
The District’s odd governance makes for even odder drug laws
The Economist (UK)
Saturday, June 11, 2016
Saturday, June 11, 2016
Since 2015 it has been legal to own, grow and use cannabis privately in Washington, DC. Generous souls are allowed to give small amounts to whomever they like. It is illegal, however, to sell it. Small businesses have sprung up seeking to exploit this dichotomy. Able to legalise cannabis but unable to tax or regulate it, DC finds itself in a strange hinterland of legality. Because nearly 30% of the District consists of federal land, on which cannabis is still classed as a Schedule 1 drug, it can be legal to possess cannabis on one side of a street and illegal on the other.
