Today, Mayor Vincent Gray approved legislation passed by D.C. Councilmembers on March 4th that would eliminate criminal penalties for the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana in the nation’s capital and treat possession as a civil offense subject to a small fine. In accordance with federal law, the legislation will not become law until it has been transmitted by the D.C. Council to Congress and available for a period of time for review that is expected to stretch into the summer months. If Congress does not take action on the legislation then it becomes law in the District of Columbia. This legislation is viewed by both council members and advocates as a model for other jurisdictions looking to reduce racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

“D.C. lawmakers heard loud and clear the public’s demand to end marijuana arrests and passed one of the strongest decriminalization laws in the whole country,” said Grant Smith, policy manager with the Drug Policy Alliance. “We don’t expect members of Congress to object to saving taxpayer dollars and advancing racial justice here in the nation’s capital.”

The “Marijuana Possession Decriminalization Amendment Act of 2014 (Council Bill 20-409)” is comprehensive legislation that was passed 10-1 by the D.C. City Council earlier this month. It eliminates the threat of arrest for possessing marijuana and ensure that people are no longer saddled with life-long convictions that make it difficult to obtain employment and housing. Instead of arresting people, the bill would impose a $25 civil fine for possession as well as forfeiture of the marijuana and any paraphernalia used to consume or carry it. By setting a $25 fine, which is the lowest civil fine for possession among seventeen states that have decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, Councilmembers cited the need to be responsive to social factors such as homelessness in the District and high rates of poverty in Wards that have seen the greatest number of marijuana arrests. Advocates have praised Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) for authoring and securing passage of this legislation through the Council.

“The marijuana law, when signed by the mayor, will help end an unconscionable injustice: A Black resident of the District is eight times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than a white person, despite using the drug at roughly the same rates. This law will prohibit police from using the smell of marijuana as a pretext for conducting criminal searches -- the first decriminalization legislation in the country to do so, and a critical blow against the War on Drugs,” said Seema Sadanandan with the American Civil Liberties Union of the Nation’s Capital.

In a statement, Collective Power, a grassroots alliance of District residents concerned about the disproportionate criminalization and discrimination of communities of color, said: “Passage of this law gets to the unspoken imbalances in our justice system for people of color and it is the voice of the people who ensured its passage. The District of Columbia must be at the forefront of decriminalizing ‘being black and brown’ and this is the start.”

"The passing of the Decriminalization Marijuana Bill is the first step in the right direction to dismantling the immoral war on drugs that has devastated communities of color," said Rev. Kelly D. Wilkins with Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ.