Photo by clarissa.stark

As the fate of the District’s voter-approved marijuana legalization law lays in limbo, with Congress threatening to really harsh D.C.’s mellow, some advocates are hopeful they’ll find loopholes allowing Initiative 71 to take place.

Even more promising to advocates are the comments the U.S. Drug Czar made in regards to the situation on Friday. During an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Friday, acting Drug Czar Michael Botticelli was pressed about the current situation in D.C. and said that Congress shouldn’t interfere with Initiative 71.

“The president, as it relates to the District, I think was very clear that the District should stick to its home rule,” Botticelli said in response to a question posed by Marijuana Policy Project Federal Policies Director Dan Riffle. “As a resident of the District, I might not agree about legalization, but I do agree with our own ability to spend our own money the way that we want to do that.”

Despite the Federal uncertainty of marijuana legalization in the District, the D.C. Council is nonetheless continuing to explore further marijuana policies, including a bill introduced by Councilmember David Grosso (I-At Large) that would introduce a taxation and regulation system.

This morning, the Committee on Finance and Revenue and the Committee on the Judiciary will hold a joint public hearing to discuss the “Marijuana Legalization and Regulation Act of 2015,” which proposes the legalization of possession, consumption, display, purchase, and transportation of marijuana for personal use for anyone over the age of 21.

In addition, the two Committees will discuss the “Prohibition of Pre-Employment Marijuana Testing Act of 2015”, which would “prohibit employers from testing potential employees for marijuana use during the hiring process, unless otherwise required by law.”