cannabisnews.com: D.C. Spending Bll Will Release Initiative 59 Vote





D.C. Spending Bll Will Release Initiative 59 Vote
Posted by FoM on August 06, 1999 at 07:35:00 PT
 Robert D. Kampia, MPP Executive Director 
Source: Marijuana Policy Project
On Wednesday, August 4, a House/Senate conference committee agreed on the final wording of the D.C. spending bill, which includes the anti-democracy amendment from the House version of the bill. MPP strongly opposed this amendment.
The amendment, introduced by U.S. Rep. Bob Barr (R-Georgia), reads as follows: "None of the funds contained in this Act may be used to enact or carry out any law, rule, or regulation to legalize or otherwise reduce penalties associated with the possession, use, or distribution of any Schedule I substance ... or any tetrahydrocannabinols derivative."   Rep. Barr's amendment -- which is slightly different from the law that was passed in October 1998 -- is so poorly worded that no one is quite sure exactly what it would do.   According to The Washington Post: "The conference committee adopted House language that would allow the city to count votes on the 1998 initiative on legalizing marijuana to treat certain medical conditions. But as approved by the House, the joint bill now would prevent the initiative from becoming law, even if voters approved it."   If this is the case, then the results of Initiative 59 will be released on October 1 or so and -- if the initiative is shown to have passed, which MPP expects is the case -- then it will not be allowed to become law.   Regardless of the interpretation of the Barr amendment -- which ultimately the courts will have to decide -- it is clear that Rep. Barr and the House Republicans want the Initiative 59 vote to be treated as an informal straw poll, rather than a serious vote by American citizens in a democratic election.BACKGROUND   In October 1998, just 13 days before Election Day, Congress passed a law that prohibited the D.C. city government from spending any money to count the votes on Initiative 59. While exit polls showed that the medical marijuana initiative passed by a 69-31 margin, nobody knows the official results of that vote, even today.   On July 29, 1999, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Barr amendment by a voice vote. Because it was a voice vote and not a roll call vote, MPP does not know which House members supported and opposed the Barr amendment.WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?   Please write to your U.S. representative and (1) tell him or her that you are outraged that Congress is once again preventing the D.C. medical marijuana initiative from taking effect, then (2) ask him or her to co-sponsor H.R. 912, the medical marijuana bill that is currently pending in the House. The address for all House members is:U.S. Rep. __________, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515Friday, August 6, 1999 D.C. Dealt Major Blow on Mandates - 8/05/99 http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2359.shtml
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