{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://norton.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/norton-calls-on-congress-to-let-dc-s-democratically-passed-initiative-71", "Norton Calls on Congress to Let D.C.s Democratically Passed Initiative 71 Stand", "2014-11-13", "2014", "2014-11", "Democrat", "House", "DC", "Eleanor Norton", "N000147", "norton.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 The Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) released Norton\u2019s written remarks ahead of a press conference she and other Members of Congress whose states have legalized or relaxed restrictions on marijuana and who support the District of Columbia\u2019s right to legalize marijuana will host on how Congress should respond to local and state marijuana legalization nationwide, today, November 13, at 11:00 a.m. on Capitol Hill, House Press Gallery, Studio B.\u00a0 The other hosts are Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Jared Polis (D-CO) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA).\n\u201cAs the District faces a threat to overturn Initiative 71, legalizing marijuana, we are heartened that, with the initiative, we find ourselves in good company with bipartisan support from my colleagues,\u201d Norton said in her remarks.\u00a0 \u201cI ask the House and Senate to respect the D.C. marijuana legalization initiative that comes straight from the votes of two-thirds of the people of my district.\u00a0 I ask House Members to remember your own states that have taken action on marijuana laws before you vote that the District should not have the same privilege.\u00a0 I particularly ask the Senators who represent the 23 states that have passed medical marijuana laws, the 18 states that have passed marijuana decriminalization laws, and the 4 states and the District of Columbia that have legalized marijuana to give the District the benefit of the doubt that federal authorities have given your states, notwithstanding unchanged federal marijuana law.\u201d\nNorton\u2019s written remarks follow:\nAs the District faces a threat to overturn Initiative 71, legalizing marijuana, we are heartened that, with the initiative, we find ourselves in good company with bipartisan support from my colleagues.\u00a0 District residents who voted 2-to-1 to legalize cannabis are not the pioneers in relaxing law enforcement for using small amounts of cannabis in the United States.\u00a0 I appreciate the leadership of my colleagues Representatives Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, which also approved a ballot initiative in November, Jared Polis of Colorado, the first state to legalize small amounts of marijuana, and Dana Rohrabacher of California, who is a recognized leader in the House of Representatives, and the leading Republican, in the reform of marijuana laws.\u00a0 I also appreciate Senator Rand Paul\u2019s recent response that the District should be able to legalize marijuana without federal interference.\nAlong with state and local law enforcement officials, the U.S. Attorney General and our Justice Department have recognized that U.S. attorneys in Republican and Democratic administrations, for years, almost never prosecute possession of small amounts of marijuana.\u00a0 Consequently, widespread use of marijuana, particularly by young people of every background, is and has long been, de facto legal.\u00a0\nToday, I join my colleagues in also seeking to lift the uncertainty for the states and the District of Columbia through passage of additional federal law, but, unlike the District, none of the states face possible nullification of their laws altogether by Congress.\u00a0 Yet, the Justice Department testified at a hearing on the D.C. decriminalization law, passed by the D.C. Council, that the District would be treated like the states that have relaxed their marijuana laws.\u00a0 However, the city has already faced an attempt by the House of Representatives to overturn its marijuana decriminalization law and now faces a threat to do the same with its legalization initiative.\u00a0\nThe states that have relaxed their marijuana laws are in league with rapidly changing public opinion.\u00a0 According to recent polls, 58 percent of the American people support full legalization.\u00a0 Increasingly the public recognizes that marijuana smoking is ubiquitous, particularly among young people, who apparently tend to outgrow cannabis use, unlike alcohol, the drink of their elders, which is legal but devastates individuals and families for a lifetime.\nThe District moved to legalize marijuana after two reputable organizations that conducted investigations found that while Blacks and Whites in the District use marijuana at comparable rates, it is the city\u2019s African Americans who get conviction records, with 9 out of 10 convictions.\u00a0 Decriminalization alone will not eliminate this outrageous disparity.\u00a0 A \u201cdrug conviction\u201d for possession of marijuana can sentence a young Black man, for example, to a lifetime of under- and unemployment.\u00a0 The D.C. investigations performed by independent organizations have done a national service in pointing up a racial disparity that the data show is nationwide, which had not been highlighted until the District acted.\u00a0 Whether intentional or the result of ordinary patterns of law enforcement, the stark racial difference in marijuana convictions is a national disgrace and an important racial justice issue.\nI ask the House and Senate to respect the D.C. marijuana legalization initiative that comes straight from the votes of two-thirds of the people of my district.\u00a0 I ask House Members to remember your own states that have taken action on marijuana laws before you vote that the District should not have the same privilege.\u00a0 I particularly ask the Senators who represent the 23 states that have passed medical marijuana laws, the 18 states that have passed marijuana decriminalization laws, and the 4 states and the District of Columbia that have legalized marijuana to give the District the benefit of the doubt that federal authorities have given your states, notwithstanding unchanged federal marijuana law.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://norton.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/norton-calls-on-congress-to-let-dc-s-democratically-passed-initiative-71"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0922839865088463, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}