Marijuana Is Now Legal in DC, but Where to Get It? Obama As Biggest Victim

A new law that came into force on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. allows for smoking marijuana, but it does not allow the selling of it. Anyone who is over 21 can smoke pot at home (smoking in public places is not allowed). However, to do so, you either need to get it from someone as a gift, or you have to plant it and wait until it grows.

Washington residents have the right to share up to one ounce of marijuana with anyone. Anyone can grow up to six marijuana plants at home, with three or fewer of them being flowering plants.

The law is rather strange; one could even say impractical. The most unfortunate victim in the whole situation is Barack Obama and his family. The White House, their current residence, is situated on land owned by the federal government, and possessing, growing or smoking marijuana on federal land is illegal.

However, it seems that the law is obeyed quite reluctantly. Rapper Snoop Dogg admitted that he smoked weed in a bathroom at the White House. He explains that he asked the “Alphabet Boys,” and they let him do it.

The “Alphabet Boys” are of course the FBI and CIA because the names of the agencies are acronyms. Snoop Dogg is wrong in thinking that the FBI and CIA are White House security guys, but this is just a detail. What counts is the fact that even though the rapper keeps demonstratively admitting that he broke the law, the “alphabet boys” are not yet knocking at his door.

Actually, if the law were observed rigorously, the “alphabet boys” would be knocking at thousands of doors and arresting millions of marijuana lovers. According to federal law, which theoretically applies to the United States as a whole, possessing, growing, selling and smoking weed is illegal.

However, apart from Washington, four other states have legalized marijuana to a greater or lesser extent: Colorado, Washington (a state in the Pacific Northwest region), Oregon and Alaska. In Colorado, weed has been sold in the shops for over a year now. Why won’t the “alphabet boys” arrest the salesmen and their clients? It turns out that Obama’s government has announced that the law will not be enforced in the states where the citizens voted to legalize marijuana.

The D.C. case is even more complicated. Last year in autumn, almost 70 percent of citizens voted to legalize marijuana, but theoretically, all new laws introduced in the District can be questioned by the U.S. Congress. So far, the congressmen have used the right to veto just three times in history, and they are not planning to use it for the fourth time because some few days ago they were certain they had blocked the legalization from taking effect by using a different, less drastic method. Namely, they amended the Budget Act (for all the states) by banning Washington from funding new laws. In other words, they placed a ban on spending tax money for “introducing” a marijuana legalization act.

Then could the capital be a “haven for weed smokers?”

It was easy to predict the conflict between the D.C. Council and Congress because the members of the former are mostly Democrats, and of the latter Republicans. The outcome, however, is surprising. The Council rebelled against Congress and announced that “to implement the law” means “to enact the law,” and since the law has already been enacted, there is no need for funds for the “implementation.” Our goal is to ensure that citizens’ will is respected, said Mayor Muriel Bowser.

However, Republican congressmen believe that “to implement” means “to make sure that the new law is observed.” They do not support the idea that the capital could be a haven for pot smokers. “There are very severe consequences for violating this provision. You can go to prison for this. We’re not playing a little game here,” threatens Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah).

Against whom was this threat uttered? The D.C. Council or pot smokers? It is not clear. Only time will tell if the new law on marijuana in Washington, D.C. is in force or not, and in which areas of the city. It is important to add that about 30 percent of central Washington is, just like the White House, owned by the federal government. That includes parks or sites around monuments and mausoleums. And the federal land is not monitored by the local police responsible for local law enforcement, but by the federal police, who are responsible for federal law enforcement. Therefore, for example, walking down the street in Washington with an ounce of weed in your pocket you can feel safe, but you may already be arrested by the “alphabet boys” by crossing into a federally owned park,