D.C. Council To Vote on Legalizing Medical Marijuana

The D.C. Council is set to vote this week on legalizing medical marijuana. If the bill passes, it would allow people who are chronically ill to buy the substance from dispensaries in Washington. In an article published by the Washington Post on May 4, "Federal surveys put the District among the nation's leaders in pot consumption. More than 11 percent of Washingtonians older than 26 reported smoking marijuana in the past year -- the highest percentage of any state in the nation, according to a 2007 survey by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Vermont and Rhode Island were second and third, each with more than 10 percent of respondents reporting marijuana use." Washington D.C.'s arrest rate in 2007 for people caught in possession of marijuana was 677 out of every 10,000 residents and is among the nation's highest rate. Washingtonpost.com states, "the bill before the D.C. Council would allow physicians to recommend -- but not prescribe -- up to two ounces of pot in a 30-day period for patients with chronic, debilitating conditions." There are currently fourteen states that have already legalized the use of medical marijuana.