Only 50 years ago, a minimal 12 percent of Americans believed that marijuana should be legal in the United States. Today, one in five Americans live in a state with access to fully legalized marijuana and a CBS poll published in April of 2017 reports that 61 percent of Americans believe marijuana should be legalized for recreational use. Although more and more states are listening to the demands of the people and legalizing the use of cannabis, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) still classifies it as a Schedule 1 drug alongside heroin and meth. This discrepancy between federal and state laws has left many Americans confused about what the real effects of legalization are, and the citizens of D.C. are no exception.
Initiative 71 (I-71) is the key piece of legislation on marijuana usage in D.C. It passed with overwhelming support in 2014, getting “yes” votes from just over 64% of the voters. Initiative 71 makes it legal for those 21 and older to transport, possess and purchase up to two ounces of marijuana. It legalizes the cultivation of, at most, six marijuana plants (with only three allowed to be fully grown at a time) in personal residences. I-71 also legalizes the free transfer of up to one ounce of the substance between those 21 and older. In this legislation, “free” is the key word to focus on because I-71 ignores one extremely vital aspect of marijuana legalization: its sale and purchase. Officially, under D.C. and federal law, it is still illegal to purchase or sell marijuana, begging the question: how do individuals obtain this newly legalized drug?
The people and suppliers of D.C. have turned to a “grey market” as a solution to the confusion of the marijuana market’s legality. Countless online vendors have emerged to create this new market, and these entrepreneurs are using various creative ways to bypass the illegality of selling marijuana. One of the most popular online sites, Pink Fox, sells backpacks, cookies and candy that are all made with or filled with cannabis. Other websites, like High Speed, will deliver an “over-priced” bottle of juice along with an ounce of marijuana right to your door. These online vendors are able to operate in a “grey” legal area because technically, customers are not paying for the marijuana but rather paying for another good instead. Katie Bell, a member of the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project, uses the example of a sandwich shop to better illustrate this confusing loophole. A sandwich shop that decides to give it’s 100th customer a free ounce of marijuana with their order is working within legal boundaries because the individual buying the sandwich had no intention to receive marijuana from the purchase. However, once it becomes clear that a person has purchased something with the intent of receiving the drug, then the practice becomes illegal.
The confusion surrounding I-71 has not only caused problems for D.C. consumers and producers, but for local D.C. law enforcement as well. Andre Struhar of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Narcotics and Special Investigations Division talked about the difficulties of dealing with legal marijuana but illegal purchases. This legal ambiguity forces police to decide between using their finite resources to investigate marijuana cases where the use of the drug may or may not be legal (depending on when, where and how it was obtained) or focusing on other crimes. Consumers are also struggling to understand and work in compliance with the new law. As a greater number of online vendors emerge to sell marijuana, it is difficult to distinguish between which methods of obtaining it comply with D.C. law and which do not. In addition, I-71 still gives landowners, employers, and schools the authority to create their own rules and regulations about marijuana usage, further complicating the situation. For example, while growing marijuana plants is legal on personal property, those who are renting apartments cannot officially grow marijuana if their landlords do not allow it. Despite this, many consumers still choose to cultivate their own marijuana plants. Growing plants that may be technically legal but that are not allowed in their buildings makes consumers less likely to report any issues about their apartments to their landlords. This becomes a problem when an individual might have safety or health concerns about where they live but feel as though they cannot report the issue for fear of being evicted.
While D.C. is now on the growing list of locations with legalized marijuana in the United States, it seems unlikely that legislation to legalize the sale and purchase of marijuana will pass anytime soon. Despite this, most D.C. lawmakers and citizens are in support of full legalization because of the many benefits. First of all, as seen with other states that have legalized the sale of marijuana such as Colorado and Washington, the District could generate many new jobs and could substantially increase revenue by taxing and regulating marijuana businesses. In addition, the illegality of marijuana has been a factor in the racial inequality that has become a staple of D.C. In 2013 a study was released revealing that African Americans were eight times more likely to be arrested for the possession of marijuana than their white counterparts, and that currently African Americans make up a massive 85% of marijuana-related arrests (a slight decrease from 91% before I-71 was passed) despite the fact that marijuana use is mostly even across racial lines in D.C.
Today, the District continues to work on legislation that will fully legalize and regulate the sale, taxation and use of marijuana. While overwhelming support from the citizens has not wavered, this herculean task will most likely take years and years because of D.C.’s almost nonexistent representation in the federal government. The District has no representative in the Senate and just one delegate with limited voting abilities in the House, giving Congress the absolute power to block any funding or laws that would allow legalization to move forward. Despite these obstacles, the people of D.C., pro-marijuana groups such as DCMJ and lawmakers alike have not given up on finding a way to integrate a brand new, legal marijuana market into D.C.’s economy.