Washington DC set to become 14th State

*PRESS RELEASE
Americans for Safe Access
For Immediate Release:* December 13, 2009

*Nation’s Capitol Becomes 14th Medical Marijuana **State*
/U.S. House & Senate lift 11-year ban against Washington, D.C. law/

*Washington, DC* — Both the United States Senate and House of
Representatives has voted to lift the ban against a medical marijuana
initiative passed by the voters of Washington, D.C. in 1998. The Senate
voted today on the 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which included
a provision to lift the “Barr amendment,” an effort by then-Congressman
Bob Barr (R-GA) to block implementation of Initiative 59, the
“Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1998.”
Barr not only blocked implementation of the law after it was clear the
initiative had passed, he also sealed the vote count. It was revealed
months later that 69% of the voters had approved the initiative.

“By restoring Washington, D.C.’s medical marijuana law,” said Caren
Woodson, Government Affairs Director with Americans for Safe Access
(ASA). “Congress has recognized the importance of medical marijuana as a
public health issue,” continued Woodson. “Washington, D.C. is not just
the 14th medical marijuana state, this issue is now in the backyard of
federal legislators and far more difficult to ignore.” The
appropriations bill now goes to the President’s desk for his expected
signature sometime this week.

As a formality, before the law can go into effect, the Council of the
District of Columbia will need to transmit the original 1998 initiative
to Congress for a 30-day review period. The law will take effect at the
conclusion of this review, and the local government will then be charged
with creating regulations to govern the implementation of the
initiative. Washington, D.C. will be the smallest medical marijuana
state, both by population at nearly 600,000 and by geography at just
under 70 square miles.

Advocates are pointing ever-increasing scientific data confirming
marijuana’s medical efficacy, heightened grassroots pressure, and a
greater willingness by Congress to address the issue, as some of the
reasons why the ban was lifted. Recent milestones, such as the Justice
Department directive to U.S. Attorneys in medical marijuana states and
the call by the American Medical Association to review marijuana status
as a dangerous drug with no medical value, have also contributed to more
tolerant environment. ASA plans to work with local advocates to make
certain that patients have a voice in the implementation of D.C.’s
restored medical marijuana law.

Underscoring the public health aspect of today’s Senate vote, the
appropriations bill also lifted a ban on federal funding for syringe
exchange programs. As catalysts for adoption of both medical marijuana
and syringe exchange programs, people living with HIV/AIDS possibly
stand the most to gain by the lifting of these bans. Studies have shown
that as many as 1/3 of people living with HIV/AIDS use medical marijuana
to treat both the symptoms of the disease and the side-effects from the
drugs. Studies have also shown that syringe exchange programs can reduce
HIV transmission by at least 1/3 and reduce risk behavior by as much as 80%.

*Further Information:*
Text of 1998 D.C. I-59:

December 13, 2009 Posted in: News