Rep. Jason Chaffetz said Congressional Republicans had a permissible reason for blocking legal marijuana in the nation’s capital.
Congress blocked the implementation of legalized marijuana possession in Washington, D.C., because it was following the U.S. Constitution, the Republican House Oversight Committee Chairman told CNN Monday.
“Looking at the Constitution, Washington, D.C. is different. They are not a state, and we have a role to play and the Congress passed this,” Chaffetz, the Representative for Utah’s 3rd congressional district, whose committee oversees the District of Columbia, said. “I respect the people who live here, and most everything passes through without a problem. But the idea that this is going to be a haven for pot smoking, I can’t support that.”
After 65 percent of D.C. voters approved a ballot measure to legalize pot possession in November, Congress stopped its implementation the following month.
Some city officials think they can still move forward with legalization because of a provision included by Congress in a must-pass spending bill that blocks the implementation of legalization; lawmakers know the fight over legal pot possession is far from over.
“We may very well head to the courts. But we did pass a law. The President signed it. And it prohibits this, so I think we have dealt with it. Some legal folks in the city of Washington, D.C., may beg to differ, but I think we’ve been crystal clear,” Chaffetz added. “You haven’t heard the end of it. It will come back again.”
