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| Legislation Introduced To Overturn D.C. MMJ Ballot |
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Posted by FoM on October 05, 1999 at 09:48:05 PT Please Get Involved Source: Marijuana Policy Project 
WASHINGTON, D.C. Legislation to overturn the results of the District of Columbia's newly passed medical marijuana ballot initiative was introduced today by U.S. Rep. Bob Barr (R-Georgia). If passed and signed into law, this would be the first time in history that Congress would have overturned a ballot initiative passed by a majority of voters in a valid, legal election. The Marijuana Policy Project, a non-profit advocacy group that campaigned for the initiative last fall, promised to fight the congressional effort to overturn the will of D.C. voters. "Congressman Barr's legislation is a slap in the face to the voters of the District of Columbia who had the compassion and good sense to pass the medical marijuana initiative," said Chuck Thomas, MPP's director of communications. "Members of Congress who want to see the continued arrest and incarceration of marijuana-using patients should vote `yes' on Congressman Barr's bill." Initiative 59, passed by 69 percent of District voters in November 1998, would allow seriously ill people in the nation's capital to use or grow medical marijuana legally if they have the approval of their doctors. Currently, patients who use medical marijuana in the District of Columbia face six months in jail. The results of Initiative 59 were released on September 20 after a federal judge ruled that a congressional law (also introduced by Rep. Barr) to suppress the results of the initiative was unconstitutional. Once the D.C. city council formally transmits the results of the voter initiative to Congress -- which could happen any day now -- Congress will have "30 working days" to either reject the initiative or let it stand, as per its constitutional authority to review all new local laws in Washington, D.C. To overturn the initiative, Rep. Barr's legislation must be passed by a majority of both the House and Senate and signed by President Clinton. The introduction of Rep. Barr's legislation coincides with the first congressional hearing on the impact of Initiative 59. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on the District of Columbia, chaired by U.S. Rep. Ernest Istook (R-Oklahoma), held a hearing today that looked into the question of whether local and federal drug laws could still be enforced if the medical marijuana initiative were allowed to take effect in Washington, D.C. Keith Vines, a prosecutor in San Francisco who uses marijuana to treat AIDS wasting syndrome, testified that California's medical marijuana law has not interfered with the prosecution of recreational marijuana offenders or other drug offenders. Virginia Congressman James Moran, the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, agreed with Mr. Vines and stated his opposition to Rep. Barr's efforts to overturn the voter initiative. Help Save Initiative 59 Marijuana Policy Project's Web Site Support For Medical Marijuana - 10/04/99 Support For Medical Marijuana - 10/04/99 Drug Sense Weekly - October 1, 1999 #117 D.C. Budget Caught in Hill Standoff - 9/29/99 Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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Comment #2 posted by Jeaneous on October 05, 1999 at 16:06:02 PT:
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Comment #1 posted by Rod on October 05, 1999 at 13:38:27 PT:
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The very fundamental aspects of the theory of democracy are at stake here.
In a Nation of the People, by the People and for the People
an attempt to overturn a legal consensus brought about by
the voters is tantamount to treason.
These politicians are obviously confused, to say the least.
Go to Norml's home page & fax these imbolic neanderthals
and let them know what you think.
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