VOTE MOVES D.C. CLOSER TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA

The U.S. Senate passed a bill Sunday that clears the way for the
District government to allow medical marijuana use and to spend local
tax dollars to help low-income women pay for abortions.

More than a decade ago, D.C. voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot
measure that would allow for the possession, use, cultivation and
distribution of marijuana if recommended by a physician for serious illnesses.

Initiative 59 passed with 69 percent of the vote in 1998, but before
it could take effect, Congress passed legislation banning the
practice in the District.

The latest bill, which passed the House on Thursday, also continues
to allow needle-exchange programs in a bid to limit the spread of HIV
and AIDS, a strategy that Congress had blocked in the District until
2007. It also provides $752 million in federal funds for the District
as part of a larger spending package.

"This is the biggest win for home rule in decades," said Del. Eleanor
Holmes Norton (D-D.C.).

President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law this week.

The District would join Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine,
Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont
and Washington in allowing medical marijuana.

D.C. Council member David A. Catania (I-At Large), chairman of the
Health Committee, supports medical marijuana but said city leaders
will proceed with caution.

"I wouldn't expect it to be implemented anytime soon, because we are
going to need to do thoughtful planning," he said, noting that
guidelines must be written about who can grow, distribute and receive
marijuana.

First, though, the District might need to submit the text of the
voter initiative for a 30-day legislative review. During that window,
Congress could take the unlikely step of blocking the initiative. If
no action is taken, the District government can issue regulations.

Aaron Houston, director of government relations for the Marijuana
Policy Project, said he thinks medical marijuana could be available
in the District by the end of 2010. "They don't have to start over,"
Houston said.

A federal law known as the Hyde Amendment has barred the District and
states from using federal money to fund abortions, but states are
free to use local tax dollars to cover the cost of the procedure for
women who cannot otherwise afford it. Private donations have helped
some D.C. women, but supporters of abortion rights say many have been
turned away from clinics and hospitals because the District
government has had no financing for abortions.

The bill also allows the District to continue using local tax dollars
to fund needle-exchange programs that provide clean syringes to
addicts, part of an effort to stem the spread of AIDS. In 2007,
Congress ended a decade-long prohibition against city funding,
allowing the D.C. HIV/AIDS Administration to provide four nonprofit
agencies with $700,000 to distribute needles in areas where drug
trafficking is common.

For years, the District has fought what residents see as intrusions
into city business by representatives from elsewhere. The city's
largely Democratic leadership has complained that times were
particularly tough when Republicans were in charge.

"It's hard to rank these riders except by lives lost," Norton said.
"In lives lost, needle exchange [restrictions] would rank as the most lethal."

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) said the Senate vote demonstrates how much
the working relationship between the city and Congress has improved
since Democrats took over.

"The District has come a long way," he said. "The support from
Congress to the District is at an all-time high. We're glad about the
substantive issues."