Medical marijuana is now legal in the District after the Democrat-controlled Congress declined to overrule a D.C Council bill that allows the city to set up as many as eight dispensaries where chronically ill patients can purchase the drug.
Although the bill has now cleared Congress, patients will likely have to wait at least several months before they can obtain the drug from a city-sanctioned dispensary.
The law allows patients with cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS and other chronic ailments can possess up to four ounces of the drug.
Patients will not be allowed to grow their own marijuana, but licensed companies will be able to sell the drug to people who first obtain a doctor’s prescription.
After a dozen years of Congressional obstruction, the will of 69% of the voters who passed Washington DC Initiative 59 shall be implemented.
Well, kinda…
(Initiative 59) Sec. 5 (a) Any District law prohibiting the possession of marijuana or cultivation of marijuana shall not apply to a medical patient, or to a medical patient’s primary caregivers, when a medical or primary caregiver possesses or cultivates marijuana for the medical purposes of the patient upon the written or oral recommendation of a licensed physician. The exemption for cultivation shall apply only to marijuana specifically grown to provide a medical supply for a patient, and not to any marijuana grown for any other purpose. In determining a quantity of marijuana that constitutes a medical supply, this act shall be interpreted to assure that any medical patient protected by the act shall have access to a sufficient quantity of marijuana to assure that they can maintain their medical supply without any interruption in their treatment or depletion of their medical supply of marijuana.
Gosh, that seems to me like that 69% of the voters didn’t vote for “Patients will not be allowed to grow their own marijuana”. Looks like they voted not only to let patients grow their own, but they can keep as much as necessary to never run out! In fact, the voters of DC approved a medical marijuana law that is far more liberal than California’s Prop 215, including such gems as:
- It has the California-style leniency on trusting doctors to recommend marijuana for almost anything if they believe it is useful (“other serious or chronic illnesses for which the recommending physician reasonably believes that marijuana has demonstrated utility.”
- You could argue the act might protect patients from being fired (or “sanctioned”) for medical marijuana use (“in so far as they comply with this act, are not subject to criminal prosecution or sanction.”)
- District residents can open non-profit dispensaries with explicit right to sell (“Residents of the District of Columbia may organize and operate not-for-profit corporations for the purpose of cultivating, purchasing, and distributing marijuana”) – that doesn’t sound like “licensed companies”, as in “the District decides who can be a dispensary.” Sounds like the People decide.
- The District Health Director has to come up with a way to get medical marijuana to residents on Medicaid (“provide for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana to all patients enrolled in Medicaid or a Ryan White CARE Act funded program who are in medical need, who desire to add marijuana to their health care regimen”)
So how did “patients can grow as much as they need and residents can open dispensaries” turn into “patients get to buy four ounces from a city-licensed dispensary?” To summarize, in the highest-ever vote in support of medical marijuana, 69%, back in 1998 when only California had it, the District of Columbia passed a medical marijuana bill more liberal than California’s. But in 2010, they get a law only slightly less restrictive than New Jersey’s.
But hey, they don’t even get a vote in Congress, so why should we bother with what the people of DC want, anyway?
Contact your elected representatives and urge them to 'Stop Arresting Marijuana Smokers'. 
whats good, check this out in march imma go to washingto dc and wondering if there is any Cannabis Club if anybody knows of any cannabis holla back late
14,000 New Yorkers double-dip into ‘Medicaid Pot” BY Kenneth Lovett DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF Wednesday, March 4th 2009, 12:14 AM ALBANY – Nearly 14,000 Medicaid recipients in New York City are double-dipping in other states, a new report found. Florida, Puerto Rico and New Jersey had the most Medicaid recipients also enrolled in New York, an audit by state Controller Thomas DiNapoli’s office revealed. The dual enrollments cost the federal, state and city governments a combined $23.5 million in Medicaid claims from April 2004 through May 2008, the audit found. While some of the claims were legitimate, DiNapoli suspects many were not. In some cases, people may have illegally used the Medicaid program in each state they were enrolled. In others, New York’s more generous program might have covered costs that should have been paid for by other states, DiNapoli said. The city Human Resources Administration has not completed investigations of $11.1 million in possible inappropriate Medicaid managed care premium payments, the audit found. While the enrollees may have been getting services they were not entitled to in New York, the medical providers got the money, DiNapoli said. “The state is facing the worst fiscal crisis of our lifetime,” DiNapoli said. “We can’t afford to waste millions of dollars on people who don’t live here.” The controller said the state Department of Health
Election Year Medicaid Medicare Inducement issues left open for November not openly discussed.Politics have gone from heated to man on fire thoughts. Also the Judicial dilemmas, since all are offically allowed to bear arms again, the big city Mayors are concerned about how the poor will be able to rearm themselves, and are looking for some type of financial relief from Federal State Medicaid programs to maintain their status quo.The higher courts face tough issues this term since making honest fraud legal, there agenda now turns toward making honest kickbacks and honest bribes equally as legal. This topic remains high as a shared issue by the medicaid medicare enrollment providers since they are looking to expand inducements past the complicated pregnancy stage.
The DOJ has serious concerns that if legalized marijuana in California for medical reasons could be used as a inducement or inticement to help secure new enrollments for the Federal State Medicare Medicaid programs.The State of California is concerned that if the Feds step up their effort in killing off the marijuana crops it could cause higher tax problems that effect Medicaid currently under consideration by the State ‘marijuana tax control board’. Limo drivers cancel their planned Medicaid Cuts DC rally and leave for California to protect this years crop. Wow, don’t think I would like to be in Politics for this years elections. Govenor Schwarzenegger indicated that if the Tea Partys membership keeps holding their rallies at our Marijuana burning fields they will have to be taxed for their free use of inhalants, prior to having them bused back to Arizona. Senator Mccain wants the deportation of illegal Mexicans to stop immediatley claims their State has gone to POT and insists California return his landscapers at once.
How many years the politicos WOULD NOT COUNT THE VOTE. Naturally treason has no meaning anymore….yet dear Roger Christie sits convicted without trial in Hawai’i. Plants have more power/bigger brains than politicians. Their fear of truth along with traditional religion horrified at the idea of churches using cannabis worship…suggest the worm is turning.
How appalling. This shows, once again, how politicians implement their own agendas despite what the voters decide. Why do politicians continue to fight legalization? Do they really think this country will go to hell if cannabis becomes legal? Are we going to have to wait until the economy crumbles under the crippling burden of those incarcerated for small time drug offenses before THEY finally see the error of their ways?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the only way we are going to make changes is through the states. The smaller the government body, the more in touch they are with the individual. We have to work to get Prop 19 passed in California. It’s the only way we are going to make progress and show these politicians they are wrong.