Washington, D.C., residents want weed to be legal.
That’s easy to understand, because they voted to legalize it last month, along with the states of Oregon and Alaska. By the time all these referendums take effect, over 17.5 million U.S. residents will be able to legally use marijuana.
Not everyone is happy about that.
Andy Harris, a Republican congressman from Maryland, wants to block the D.C. referendum from taking effect. He attached a rider to the budget deal currently working its way through Congress. If the rider survives the ongoing negotiations and the bill is signed, D.C. won’t be able to to fully legalize marijuana as quickly as District officials had hoped.
When Republicans take control of Congress in January, legalization in D.C. faces an even grimmer future. Because D.C. is a federal district and not a state, it’s subject to direct congressional oversight in a way that no state experiences.
Naturally, D.C. voters who pressed for legalization are furious at Harris. They view his actions as the latest in a long history of federal overreach in the nation’s capital.
Some residents are planning protests and civil disobedience to show their disapproval, but in the meantime, pot activists are playing a little phone prank to get the congressman’s attention.
So, funny story about Andy Harris, the Maryland Rep who’s made it his mission to block D.C. weed legalization …
— CJ Ciaramella (@cjciaramella) December 10, 2014
Heard DC residents have been calling his office and complaining about their trash pickup. When the staffer says that’s not his District …
— CJ Ciaramella (@cjciaramella) December 10, 2014
They yell into the phone, “Then why are you fucking with our weed laws!”
— CJ Ciaramella (@cjciaramella) December 10, 2014
Photo via Wiros (CC BY SA 2.0)
