Marijuana legalization appeared on its way to passing easily at the polls in the District on Tuesday, putting the city at the vanguard of a nationwide movement that also saw Oregon and Alaska consider pro-pot initiatives on Election Day.
The most preliminary results, released shortly after polls closed at 8 p.m., showed 65 percent of voters favoring the initiative with 30 percent opposed among ballots cast in early voting and nine of 143 precincts reporting.
Many D.C. voters who took to the polls Tuesday framed their support of the initiative in terms of social justice, saying they favored legalization because it would bring an end to arrests and discrimination against marijuana users, specifically young black men.
SEE ALSO: Bowser jumps to lead among early voters in D.C. mayor’s race
Retiree Thornton Cain, 64, voted for the initiative because he said he is tired of hearing from young men in his community that they can’t get jobs after being tied up in the criminal justice system over minor drug offenses.
“I don’t want to see young people going to jail for it,” said Mr. Cain, who cast his ballot at LaSalle-Backus Education Campus in Northeast.
Asked if he might consume legal marijuana, Mr. Cain chuckled.
SEE ALSO: PHOTOS: D.C. heads to the polls
“Not at my age not,” he said. “I have in my younger days, though.”
Initiative 71 would make it legal to possess up to 2 ounces of marijuana and for D.C. residents to grow up to six marijuana plants in their homes. The ballot measure does not set up a scheme by which marijuana could be bought and sold. Regulations and a taxation mechanism would likely be drafted by city officials — a process lawmakers have already begun.
The marijuana legalization movement picked up momentum in 2012, when voters in Colorado and Washington approved measures legalizing the drug. Voters in Alaska and Oregon on Tuesday were also asked to consider legalization in their states.
Polls in those states have offered contradictory or inconclusive results ahead of the vote, which would allow the states to regulate and tax the sale of marijuana.
Florida voters rejected a constitutional amendment to authorize the use of medical marijuana. The question, which required 60 percent of the vote to pass, would have made Florida the first in the South to legalize medical marijuana. While a majority favored the program — 57 percent to 43 percent — The Associated Press projected the measure would fall short of the threshold needed to move it forward.
Medical marijuana is legal in 23 states and the District.
In the District, the legalization vote comes after city officials implemented a medical marijuana program and passed a measure decriminalizing the drug over the summer.
Lawmakers noted the higher frequency at which blacks are arrested for marijuana possession than whites in the city. The D.C. Council passed laws making possession of small amounts of the drug a civil rather than criminal offense, meaning offenders would face a nominal fine rather than charges.
Emerald Christopher, 32, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Maryland and a part-time professor at Georgetown, said Tuesday that she supported going beyond decriminalization because the referendum effort gave voters a voice on the issue.
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/nov/4/dc-marijuana-legalization-measure-on-track-for-eas/#ixzz3IA7sjCEK
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
The most preliminary results, released shortly after polls closed at 8 p.m., showed 65 percent of voters favoring the initiative with 30 percent opposed among ballots cast in early voting and nine of 143 precincts reporting.
Many D.C. voters who took to the polls Tuesday framed their support of the initiative in terms of social justice, saying they favored legalization because it would bring an end to arrests and discrimination against marijuana users, specifically young black men.
SEE ALSO: Bowser jumps to lead among early voters in D.C. mayor’s race
Retiree Thornton Cain, 64, voted for the initiative because he said he is tired of hearing from young men in his community that they can’t get jobs after being tied up in the criminal justice system over minor drug offenses.
“I don’t want to see young people going to jail for it,” said Mr. Cain, who cast his ballot at LaSalle-Backus Education Campus in Northeast.
Asked if he might consume legal marijuana, Mr. Cain chuckled.
SEE ALSO: PHOTOS: D.C. heads to the polls
“Not at my age not,” he said. “I have in my younger days, though.”
Initiative 71 would make it legal to possess up to 2 ounces of marijuana and for D.C. residents to grow up to six marijuana plants in their homes. The ballot measure does not set up a scheme by which marijuana could be bought and sold. Regulations and a taxation mechanism would likely be drafted by city officials — a process lawmakers have already begun.
The marijuana legalization movement picked up momentum in 2012, when voters in Colorado and Washington approved measures legalizing the drug. Voters in Alaska and Oregon on Tuesday were also asked to consider legalization in their states.
Polls in those states have offered contradictory or inconclusive results ahead of the vote, which would allow the states to regulate and tax the sale of marijuana.
Florida voters rejected a constitutional amendment to authorize the use of medical marijuana. The question, which required 60 percent of the vote to pass, would have made Florida the first in the South to legalize medical marijuana. While a majority favored the program — 57 percent to 43 percent — The Associated Press projected the measure would fall short of the threshold needed to move it forward.
Medical marijuana is legal in 23 states and the District.
In the District, the legalization vote comes after city officials implemented a medical marijuana program and passed a measure decriminalizing the drug over the summer.
Lawmakers noted the higher frequency at which blacks are arrested for marijuana possession than whites in the city. The D.C. Council passed laws making possession of small amounts of the drug a civil rather than criminal offense, meaning offenders would face a nominal fine rather than charges.
Emerald Christopher, 32, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Maryland and a part-time professor at Georgetown, said Tuesday that she supported going beyond decriminalization because the referendum effort gave voters a voice on the issue.
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/nov/4/dc-marijuana-legalization-measure-on-track-for-eas/#ixzz3IA7sjCEK
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter