Following President Biden's historic announcement to pardon all prior federal offenses of simple cannabis possession, Washington DC's Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton has a pressing request for the White House.
While she applauded Biden's pardon, Rep. Norton is calling on the administration to allow Washington, D.C. to establish a commercial cannabis market, as well as the ability to grant clemency to itself.
After Biden’s federal and DC marijuana pardons, which I applaud, I called on the Biden administration to end its support for the DC marijuana rider and to endorse giving DC clemency authority. #DCStatehood #HandsOffDC
— Eleanor #DCStatehood Holmes Norton (@EleanorNorton) October 6, 2022
While most states have some independent process by which governors and officials can grant pardons; in DC, they depend on the president to grant that relief. Therefore, Norton understands that the clemency process must be reformed.
"Under the Constitution, Congress has plenary power over both DC & territories. Congress has chosen to allow the territories to commercialize recreational marijuana and to prosecute & grant clemency for all crimes under their laws. It should choose to do the same for DC," Norton tweeted.
The congresswoman also said that the policy represents a “shocking violation of D.C. home rule by a Democratic administration (...) D.C. should not have to rely on the president to exercise mercy and mitigate the harms of unjust policies."
Additionally, "last month, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform passed Norton’s District of Columbia Home Rule Expansion Act, which would, among other things, give D.C. the exclusive authority to grant clemency for D.C. crimes," according to a press release.
Today, @OversightDems passed my DC Home Rule Expansion Act, which would be the biggest expansion of DC home rule since passage of the DC Home Rule Act in 1973.
— Eleanor #DCStatehood Holmes Norton (@EleanorNorton) September 20, 2022
Statement: https://t.co/FncXxa7Okr pic.twitter.com/ZqiuKS5yND
President Biden, Please Stop Blocking Washington DC
Norton also pointed out that Biden's last two budget proposals kept a GOP-sponsored clause that prevented D.C. from using local tax dollars to implement a regulated cannabis market.
Although DC voters overwhelmingly approved cannabis legalization in 2014, Biden consistently has decided to exclude Washington, D.C. from legalizing marijuana sales as part of the fiscal year 2023 budget proposal. This has prevented the district government from implementing regulated cannabis sales each time the budget comes up.
A recent survey showed that more than two-thirds of Washington, D.C. voters want marijuana legalized while at the same time they are firmly against the crackdown on the cannabis “gifting” market.
Image by Benzinga
