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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 

DECEMBER 13, 2009

Congress Ends Ban on Medical Marijuana in Washington, D.C.

Only Obama’s Signature Now Needed on Historic Measure

CONTACT: Aaron Houston, MPP director of government relations ……………………… 202-420-1031

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Senate today passed historic legislation to end the decade long ban on implementation of the medical marijuana law Washington, D.C. voters passed in 1998.

            “This marks the first time in history that Congress has changed a marijuana law for the better,” said Aaron Houston, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C.

            The “Barr amendment,” a rider attached to appropriations for the District, has forbidden D.C. from extending legal protection to qualified medical marijuana patients and has long been derided as an unconscionable intrusion by the federal government into the District's affairs. The omnibus spending bill, now approved by both chambers of Congress, removes this onerous provision, allowing the District to finally implement its voter-approved law. President Obama is expected to sign the bill shortly.

          “This is not only a huge victory for medical marijuana patients and for D.C. self-government, it marks a history-making shift on the medical marijuana issue," Houston said. “This is the first time Congress has ever given its assent to a state or local law that permits medical use of marijuana. It shows that Congress is listening to voters, who have supported protection for medical marijuana patients for well over a decade, as well as to the medical community’s growing recognition of marijuana’s medical value.

         “Coming on top of the announcement that the Department of Justice will not interfere with state medical marijuana laws, this shows that the ground has fundamentally shifted. It’s time for the federal government to take the logical next step as the American Medical Association just suggested, and reconsider marijuana’s classification as a Schedule I drug, which bars medical use.”

         Congressman Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) originally removed the ban from the D.C. appropriations bill back in July after years of working to protect patients in Washington, D.C. Congressman David Obey (D-Wis.) helped ensure that the change made it through the legislative process and into the omnibus spending bill Congress passed today.

         Medical marijuana is legal under the laws of 13 states, with bills under consideration in several others, including New York, New Jersey, and Illinois.

         With more than 29,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.

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