US Capital votes to legalise marijuana
6 Nov 2014 5:45 AM IST
Washington DC approved the measure by 64 per cent in favor and 29 per cent against, according to partial results posted online, in a move adding the nation’s capital to Colorado and Washington state in legalizing pot.
Florida meanwhile appeared to have failed to approve a measure allowing marijuana for medical purposes. Some 57 per cent voted in favor, less than the 60 per cent required for the the proposal to pass, partial results showed. Oregon and Alaska were also voting on marijuana-related proposals, but polls closed later in the western US states, so results were still awaited. ‘The DC loss is unsurprising, but disappointing,’ said Kevin Sabet, an opponent of legalizing pot in Oregon, where it was also on the ballot.
‘And the fight isn’t over. We will be working to ensure that marijuana is not commercialized in DC,’ he told AFP, as results from nationwide referenda continued to pour in. It is still against federal law to consume, sell and possess cannabis, but some 20 states have either partially or fully decriminalized it.
In 2012 Colorado and Washington, both western US states, voted to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes. Colorado rapidly became a pioneer for the retail commercialization of pot sales along the lines regulating tobacco sales. Mike Elliott, head of the Colorado-based Marijuana Industry Group, hailed the Washington DC result.
‘More and and more people are realizing that it makes sense to choose licensed, regulated, and taxed marijuana businesses over the drug cartels,’ he said. ‘Colorado is showing the rest of the world that reforming marijuana laws can enhance safety, the economy, and our basic civil liberties,’ he added. Marijuana was just one subject among others being voted on in referendums held in the sidelines of the US midterm polls.
Florida meanwhile appeared to have failed to approve a measure allowing marijuana for medical purposes. Some 57 per cent voted in favor, less than the 60 per cent required for the the proposal to pass, partial results showed. Oregon and Alaska were also voting on marijuana-related proposals, but polls closed later in the western US states, so results were still awaited. ‘The DC loss is unsurprising, but disappointing,’ said Kevin Sabet, an opponent of legalizing pot in Oregon, where it was also on the ballot.
‘And the fight isn’t over. We will be working to ensure that marijuana is not commercialized in DC,’ he told AFP, as results from nationwide referenda continued to pour in. It is still against federal law to consume, sell and possess cannabis, but some 20 states have either partially or fully decriminalized it.
In 2012 Colorado and Washington, both western US states, voted to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes. Colorado rapidly became a pioneer for the retail commercialization of pot sales along the lines regulating tobacco sales. Mike Elliott, head of the Colorado-based Marijuana Industry Group, hailed the Washington DC result.
‘More and and more people are realizing that it makes sense to choose licensed, regulated, and taxed marijuana businesses over the drug cartels,’ he said. ‘Colorado is showing the rest of the world that reforming marijuana laws can enhance safety, the economy, and our basic civil liberties,’ he added. Marijuana was just one subject among others being voted on in referendums held in the sidelines of the US midterm polls.
Next Story
