Jacob Bell
New Member
Washingtonians who are seeking an opportunity of making history by being the area's first to dispense medical marijuana have until Halloween to submit needed and required materials to city officials. Once the date passes, the program will have jumped a huge hurdle. There are five slots the District of Columbia wishes to fill.
On October 3rd, the District's Department of Health began to accept paperwork from those who have been pre-approved. The District should wrap up its two-part application process by the end of the month. The first part was to select 10 groups to grow marijuana at secure cultivation centers and ran from Aug. 15 to Sept. 30.
Returning citizen Carlos Diaz said he's bothered by the District's progress. "I went to prison for selling drugs, but the city is setting up legal places to sell the same thing they put me behind bars for," he said. "That ain't right." Diaz said he got 16 months for selling marijuana back in 2002.
What Diaz might not be aware of is, the District of Columbia has had an approved medical marijuana bill passed since a 1998 referendum. The plan was stalled when a congressional rider known as the Barr Amendment banned the city from funding legalization efforts. However, the ban was lifted in 2009, which cleared the way for the program's implementation.
The D.C. government has tread warily, and in its application materials the city inserted a section that requires applicants to state in writing that they assume the risk of federal prosecution for growing or distributing the drug and that they cannot hold the city liable for arrests.
As a result, the D.C. Patients' Cooperative has decided to take a "wait-and-see" approach instead of applying to the program, according to board member Nikolas Schiller.
"It basically says we have to admit we're violating federal law," Mr. Schiller said. "It's a little bit frustrating, to say the least."
A city official said Friday that most of the cultivation applications came in shortly before the Sept. 30 deadline and that they are still being processed, so it is unclear whether the prosecution clause had a significant effect on the number of applicants.
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: examiner.com
Author: Reginald Johnson
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: Clarity Digital Group LLC
Website: Medical marijuana in DC
On October 3rd, the District's Department of Health began to accept paperwork from those who have been pre-approved. The District should wrap up its two-part application process by the end of the month. The first part was to select 10 groups to grow marijuana at secure cultivation centers and ran from Aug. 15 to Sept. 30.
Returning citizen Carlos Diaz said he's bothered by the District's progress. "I went to prison for selling drugs, but the city is setting up legal places to sell the same thing they put me behind bars for," he said. "That ain't right." Diaz said he got 16 months for selling marijuana back in 2002.
What Diaz might not be aware of is, the District of Columbia has had an approved medical marijuana bill passed since a 1998 referendum. The plan was stalled when a congressional rider known as the Barr Amendment banned the city from funding legalization efforts. However, the ban was lifted in 2009, which cleared the way for the program's implementation.
The D.C. government has tread warily, and in its application materials the city inserted a section that requires applicants to state in writing that they assume the risk of federal prosecution for growing or distributing the drug and that they cannot hold the city liable for arrests.
As a result, the D.C. Patients' Cooperative has decided to take a "wait-and-see" approach instead of applying to the program, according to board member Nikolas Schiller.
"It basically says we have to admit we're violating federal law," Mr. Schiller said. "It's a little bit frustrating, to say the least."
A city official said Friday that most of the cultivation applications came in shortly before the Sept. 30 deadline and that they are still being processed, so it is unclear whether the prosecution clause had a significant effect on the number of applicants.
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: examiner.com
Author: Reginald Johnson
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: Clarity Digital Group LLC
Website: Medical marijuana in DC
