U.S. drug czar Michael Botticelli, though banned from supporting marijuana legalization due to federal law, says that the nation’s capital should be able to implement its own laws using its own funds, even if that does indeed mean legalizing marijuana.
“As a resident of the District, I might not agree about legalization, but I do agree with our own ability to spend our own money the way that we want to do that,” said Botticelli, acting director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), during an event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Friday. Botticelli was speaking in response to a question from Dan Riffle, federal policies director at the Marijuana Policy Project.
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Still, D.C. marijuana legalization faces some obstacles before it can become law. Congress has a mandatory 30 days to review the D.C. Council legislation, which is currently ongoing. Without congressional action, the measure will automatically become law. But that still leaves Obama’s proposed budget — and his plan will require approval by the Republican-controlled House and Senate.
“Even if he personally disagrees with ending prohibition, it’s great to see the head of this office in particular saying that he thinks the federal government shouldn’t stand in the way of the huge majority of D.C. voters who want a new direction for marijuana policy,” said Tom Angell, chairman of the drug policy reform group Marijuana Majority, to The Huffington Post. “Now I just hope he thinks voters in the states should be afforded that same respect he wants to give Washington, D.C. residents.”
