New initiative to legalize cannabis sales in Washington D.C.

An initiative entitled New Modern Day Cannabis Justice Reform Act has been filed in Washington D.C. to legalize cannabis sales in the District. The text would put an end to prosecutions for growing, selling and consuming cannabis. It would also prevent cannabis as grounds for police searches, and provides for the expungement of previous cannabis-related convictions.

The district legalized possession of small quantities of cannabis and home cultivation in 2014, but not retail sales. For the measure to appear on this year's upcoming November ballot, it must still be reviewed by the Board of Elections and then collect 24,835 valid signatures from registered voters.

IF signature gathering has not yet begun, the campaign nevertheless has a base of 40,000 potential signatories who have already declared their willingness to sign the project.

«This initiative legalizes the possession, to the extent possible under current law, consumption, sale and purchase of cannabis and cannabis-based products. CBD for anyone aged 21 or over,» says the bill. «Where this is not possible, the initiative will make law enforcement and police prosecution the lowest priority.»

The proposal also contains other worthy provisions such as the requirement to have resided for at least 2 years in the district to be eligible for a commercial cannabis license, or the possibility for people on parole to access licenses.

«We don't want the market to be controlled by outside operators. That's already happened. They're already here,» said Dawn Lee-Carty, Executive Director of the campaign, referring to the district's existing medical cannabis program. «There are a lot of people from out of state, big financial interests that come into play and they sweep away opportunities that people in our community might have.»

Vertical integration would also be prohibited, to prevent companies from controlling several stages in the production and sale of cannabis, so that the local industry would be more diversified and less exposed to the risk of monopolization.

Another unique provision would ensure that police dogs «previously trained to detect cannabis are retrained to detect explosives, weapons of mass destruction and firearms to protect our schools, malls, mass gatherings, from foreign and domestic terrorism.».