{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://norton.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/norton-says-opponents-who-meddle-with-dc-s-new-marijuana-legalization", "Norton Says Opponents Who Meddle with D.C.s New Marijuana Legalization Law Will Get the Fight of Their Lives", "2014-11-04", "2014", "2014-11", "Democrat", "House", "DC", "Eleanor Norton", "N000147", "norton.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today reassured District of Columbia residents that she will defend the District\u2019s marijuana legalization initiative (Initiative 71), expected to be overwhelmingly approved tonight, from any and all congressional attempts to block or overturn\u00a0 it.\u00a0 However, Norton warned residents that Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) is still looking for ways to undo the will of D.C. residents.\u00a0 Harris told The Hill last week, \"If legalization passes, I will consider using all resources available to a member of Congress to stop this action\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Norton said that Harris\u2019 interference with a marijuana legalization initiative stimulated by racial injustice is particularly objectionable.\u00a0 An American Civil Liberties Union of the Nation\u2019s Capital study of the District, where about half the residents are Black, found that Blacks are eight times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than non-Blacks, and 91 percent of all marijuana-related arrests are of Black residents, even though\u00a0 Blacks and Whites use marijuana at the same rate.\u00a0 She said that no Member of Congress has the right to intervene with the city's right to self-government and its attempt to erase almost unheard-of racial disparities.\n\u201cThe people have spoken,\u201d Norton said.\u00a0 \u201cAnd D.C. residents can rest assured that when a mandate comes directly from the people, they haven\u2019t seen a fight like the fight I\u2019m preparing to make against Rep. Andy Harris and any other Member of Congress who attempts to undo our democratic process.\u00a0 Initiative 71 is not just about the legalization of marijuana; it addresses an intolerable racial disparity in our city that has crippled the life chances of countless African Americans and Hispanics.\u00a0 We have not been able to conquer the racial disparity between Black and White marijuana convictions.\u00a0 What we can do with legalization is to take away the instrument that causes this inequality.\u201d\nJust today, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) told Roll Call that D.C. voters\u00a0 alone, not Congress, should decide whether to legalize marijuana.\u00a0 Paul said, \u201cI\u2019m not for having the federal government get involved.\u00a0 I really haven\u2019t taken a stand on\u2026the actual legalization\u2026but I\u2019m against the federal government telling them they can\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0 Norton said that Senator Paul\u2019s statement was particularly noteworthy because it was unrelated to the underlying marijuana legalization issue, and was based entirely on the democratic principle of local self-government free from federal interference.\nIn July, the District\u2019s marijuana decriminalization bill took effect.\u00a0 That same month, the House passed the fiscal year 2015 D.C. Appropriations bill, which, under an amendment sponsored by Harris, would prohibit the District from spending its local funds to decriminalize or legalize marijuana.\u00a0 Norton kept the amendment from being included in the Senate\u2019s fiscal year 2015 D.C. Appropriations bill or in the fiscal year 2015 short-term continuing resolution, which expires on December 11.\u00a0 Since passage of the Harris amendment, Norton has been working with her allies in the Senate and outside Congress to keep the Harris amendment out of the final fiscal year 2015 D.C. Appropriations bill.\u00a0 The Obama Administration has called on Congress to reject the Harris amendment.\u00a0 The Statement of Administration Policy on the House\u2019s fiscal year 2015 D.C. Appropriations bill said the administration \u201cstrongly opposes\u201d the bill\u2019s prohibition on the District spending its own local funds to implement its local marijuana policies because it violates the \u201cprinciple of States\u2019 rights and of District home rule.\u201d\nTwenty-three states have legalized medical marijuana, 18 states have decriminalized marijuana, and two states have legalized marijuana.\u00a0 A February 2014 Pew Research Center poll found that 54% of Americans support marijuana legalization.", 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-says-opponents-who-meddle-with-dc-s-new-marijuana-legalization"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8536088280379772, "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"}