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Republicans Warn Washington to Think Twice 
Posted by CN Staff on February 26, 2015 at 19:01:18 PT
By Jennifer Steinhauer
Source: New York Times
Washington, D.C. -- Some Congressional Republicans said Thursday that they would increase their efforts to prevent residents here from possessing small amounts of marijuana, which became legal in Washington at midnight, and warned that the city would face numerous investigations and hearings should the mayor continue her practice of telling them to please find something else to worry about.“We say move forward at your own peril,” said Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, echoing a letter he and Representative Mark Meadows, Republican of North Carolina, sent to city officials this week, warning of legal action and ordering the district to turn over documentation on any employees involved with putting the law into effect.
On Thursday, the difficulty in detecting a pot-infused sea change in the city was not surprising, given that selling the drug in the city remains illegal and that any plants, which may now be grown at home (six only, and only three of them mature), would be hard to see through the perpetual snow on the window panes. Residents are not permitted to smoke in public or on federal land, so any smoke wafting along the Potomac was no less or more than it would have been on Wednesday.What is more, the district already decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana last year, making the new ability for residents 21 and older to legally possess two ounces a bit of a snore, statutorily speaking.“The fact is that Initiative 71 is an incremental change from the previous D.C. law that decriminalized small amounts of marijuana,” Michael Czin, a spokesman for Mayor Muriel Bowser, said in an email. “It’s largely business as usual for us. Right now, we’re focused on implementing the law in a thoughtful, responsible way and making sure our residents know what they can and cannot do.”Adam Eidinger, chairman of the D.C. Cannabis Campaign, planted six seeds of the “soul shine” variety of marijuana in a little tray in his home, which also serves as the campaign’s headquarters. He then rolled up a joint to smoke for the benefit of rolling television cameras.At the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday just outside the district, several dozen people attended a panel on marijuana legalization, where former Gov. Gary E. Johnson of New Mexico debated Anne Marie Buerkle, the commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. While Ms. Buerkle stressed the impact of a drug she said would “stupefy our youth,” Mr. Johnson emphatically disagreed, saying the debate was akin to arguing “over whether the sun is going to come up tomorrow.”Other guests at the conference demonstrated the divide. “Prohibition is a nanny state, liberal idea that the government should protect you from your own stupidity,” said Howard Wooldridge, a former police detective and a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. “For conservatives, this should be their bread and butter. If these people would apply their conservative principles to the issue, they would all be on my side.”The House speaker, John A. Boehner, has deferred the matter to the relevant committees. However, some Republican House members said they would ask the Justice Department to prevent the legalization of marijuana in the district, which approved the law in a referendum passed overwhelmingly last fall. Congressional Republicans believe they blocked the voter initiative through a last-minute provision in a large federal spending bill.“The district is on a slippery slope to becoming Amsterdam,” Mr. Chaffetz said. “We are going to appeal to the U.S. attorney. We want to see the law enforced.”He said that the request to the Justice Department would come soon, and that there would probably be investigations and hearings in Congress.Ms. Bowser said Wednesday that the city would carry out its own law and that Congress should “not be so concerned about overturning what seven out of 10 voters said should be the law.”Among other things, some lawmakers believe that the district could be found in violation of the rarely invoked Anti-Deficiency Act, which stipulates that a city cannot spend money that was not appropriated by Congress and imposes criminal and financial penalties on violators, something local officials do not believe could happen here.The push by congressional Republicans notwithstanding, the Justice Department has made clear that it is not interested in interfering. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has jurisdiction,” said William Miller, a spokesman for that office. “We are following developments and have no further comment at this time.”A few weeks after the marijuana ballot initiative passed, House Republicans placed a provision into a large federal spending bill prohibiting the city, which is overwhelmingly Democratic, from spending tax dollars to enact the initiative. But district officials argue that the marijuana law had already been enacted and certified by the Board of Elections before Congress passed the spending bill, so there was no “enacting” for the House to prevent.“The culture has always been here,” said Mr. Eidinger, of the D.C. Cannabis Campaign. “I think this is going to make private gatherings more cannabis friendly. I like to call it legalization without commercialization.”Nick Corasaniti contributed reporting. Nick Corasaniti contributed reporting.A version of this article appears in print on February 27, 2015, on page A13 of the New York edition with the headline: Republicans Warn Washington to Think Twice About Legalizing Marijuana. Source: New York Times (NY)Author: Jennifer SteinhauerPublished: February 26, 2015Copyright: 2015 The New York Times CompanyContact: letters nytimes.comWebsite: http://www.nytimes.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/vucoDEvJCannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #10 posted by potpal on February 28, 2015 at 17:19:27 PT
District of Cannabis
I like that! People should think 3 times before voting republican.
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Comment #9 posted by MikeEEEEE on February 27, 2015 at 15:02:18 PT
RepubliConArtists
Every few weeks, republicons prove how crazy they are (yet another article).Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Compares Organized Workers to ISIS
http://commondreams.org/news/2015/02/27/wisconsin-gov-scott-walker-compares-organized-workers-isis
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Comment #8 posted by John Tyler on February 27, 2015 at 06:36:24 PT
Republicans are on the wrong side of this
This issue will end up in the courts. It will cost a lot of money, and the Republicans will lose one way or the other. The court of public opinion has already decided that cannabis prohibition should end. The wise office holder, or those seeking elected office, should realize this and embrace it, or not be able to get elected.Oh, and don't try to "beat up" on D.C. It makes you look bad.
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Comment #7 posted by The GCW on February 27, 2015 at 05:18:11 PT
FoM, 
I agree and I agree.
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on February 27, 2015 at 04:29:10 PT
Republicans
This is getting so much TV air time it will hurt them forever if they don't change their ways and I doubt they will. 
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Comment #5 posted by The GCW on February 27, 2015 at 04:23:38 PT
Repubs have it backwards
"Republicans Warn Washington to Think Twice"REALLY?I believe Repub's have it backwards;Repub's better think twice about what they do regarding D.C.This issue could make them insignificant or even extinct!A mistake here might haunt Repubs on election day like they haven't seen before.-0-At almost every every opportunity, voters and citizens are rolling back cannabis prohibition. Examine under the microscope what the Re-pulsive ones are doing and voters will avoid their vomit. Repub's are attempting to sell the plague; they'll get a few takers in the beginning but in the end cannabis prohibition is dead. Anything associated with the vomit gets flushed.
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Comment #4 posted by runruff on February 26, 2015 at 22:11:01 PT
We are rollin', rollin' , rollin' ...
keep those joints a rollin', high five!I could not be better entertained if I wrote the script myself. Now to hear from a couple more of these honyocks! Calvin Fey, Michele Leonheat, to name two, who need to chime in. The more hired mouth pieces the better. This is the age of Aquarius the the age of truth and justice. We are on the right side this time and I have grown over these many years to love, and respect all of you here, so rare!
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on February 26, 2015 at 20:04:16 PT
HempWorld
It's really good to see you!
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Comment #2 posted by HempWorld on February 26, 2015 at 19:42:16 PT
I am so sorry!
I meant:New Amsterdam!i.e. New York!
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Comment #1 posted by HempWorld on February 26, 2015 at 19:40:01 PT
Amsterdam?
What?But that is a great city! With all it's liberties...I wish DC (District of Cannabis) would like to emulate A'dam... (for insiders)Less crime, etc. more freedom. In Amsterdam you can actually smoke a joint and walk around the city... Imagine the feeling of freedom and liberty that gives you. But, not in DC, or WA state or CO, or AK, etc.In one word, preposterous...You can't have it, no matter what... ! We will, bla, bla, bla...It's just a plant!? Get over it!It's all about: 
Home Cultivation!
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