It’s Official: Owning And Using Marijuana Is Now Legal In Washington D.C.

(Brett Levin Photography)

It’s been quite a green week in the country, as the last few days have seen the recreational use of marijuana become legal in Alaska and now the capital of the United States, Washington D.C. But curb those dreams of toking up at the Lincoln Memorial, folks, because there are some limits to the new law.

After 70% of city voters weighed in last November, pot became an officially legal intoxicant as of 12:01 a.m. today, despite a last-minute intervention by the chairman of the House committee that handles D.C. affairs, reports the Washington Post.

Mayor Muriel E. Bowser and D.C. Council members said yesterday that they wouldn’t back down from the will of the people.

“We will uphold the letter and the spirit of the initiative that was passed last year, and we will establish the Initiative 71 Task Force to coordinate our enforcement, awareness and engagement efforts and address policy questions as they arise,” Mayor Bowser said in a statement.

Her office will also “put forward emergency legislation to clarify that the law does not allow private clubs to provide marijuana to their patrons.”

D.C.’s legalization will be a lot more like Alaska’s recent shift into greener pastures, and less like Colorado and Washington, which both allow for pot shops and dispensaries that are open to the public.

In D.C. it’s now legal for people 21 and older to possess two ounces or less of marijuana; share an ounce or less with another person of legal age as long as no one is exchanging money, goods or services for it; grow up to six marijuana plants but have no more than three mature plants in their main home and to use marijuana on private property.

Basically, home grow, home use, as D.C.’s city site says.

This means no large growing operations, no lighting joints on the National Mall or any other public place (including public housing, as those homes are government-owned) and no operating vehicles or boats under the influence.

With marijuana legalization, green rush is on in D.C. [Washington Post]