On a final vote, the District of Columbia Council unanimously passed B18-0622, a bill legalizing medical marijuana. DC doctors will be able to prescribe from 2 to 4 ounces of cannabis per month to registered patients with chronic diseases (acne probably won’t count). The pot will be gown in registered cultivation centers and sold in registered dispensaries.
Similar laws, but without all the safeguards, exist in several states. Under the many compromises of Washington’s limited home rule, though, Congress has 30 days to mess with the legislation, even though it involves no federal funds.
The drive to pass this bill began in 1998. City Paper‘s Jason Cherkis has the back story.
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
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Tags: health care, marijuana, medical care, medical marijuana
NotionsCapital 
May 5, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Let’s go one step further. Sell the marajuana as taxed cigs and make some money on this needed service.
May 5, 2010 at 3:43 pm
Mike wrote: Sell the marajuana as taxed cigs and make some money on this needed service.
DC does not have a tax on prescription drugs. Actually, I’ve never encountered an Rx tax anywhere, even Virginia, which taxes grocery purchases.
If DC legalizes recreational cannabis, though, I’m sure it will be taxed. California is talking about doing that.
May 5, 2010 at 10:13 pm
Update:
“D.C. Council approves medical marijuana, posing challenges for doctors,” Lena H. Sun, Washington Post.