Marijuana Is Now Legal* In D.C.

Marijuana is now legal (well, kind of) in the District of Columbia, but don't expect D.C. to become the next Amsterdam. Or even the next Colorado. Under the new law, which went into effect at 12:01 a.m. this morning, the possession, consumption, and cultivation of marijuana is now legal.
But don't spark up a celebration join in front of the Washington Monument, while remarking how the structure "looks like a giant joint." You'll get arrested for that. Here's what you need to know:
What You Can Do

• Possess up to two ounce of marijuana if you're over 21.
• Consume marijuana (yes, you can bake it into cookies, or whatever), in the comfort of your own home.
• Possess paraphernalia for consuming marijuana.
• Transfer up to one ounce of marijuana to a fellow human.
• Grow up to six marijuana plants in your home, with no more than three being mature at one time.

What You Can't Do

• Sell marijuana.
• Possess or consume marijuana if you're under 21.
• Smoke marijuana in public (especially on Federal land, which makes up 22 percent of the District).
• Consume marijuana in public housing.
• Drive while high.

Marijuana legalization is a big deal for pot enthusiasts in the District, but it's an even bigger deal for the culture of marijuana-related crimes, which, as statistics show, has disproportionately affected black men.
The crux of Initiative 71, and D.C.'s marijuana decriminalization law that was passed last summer, has always been to help ease the racial disparity in marijuana-related arrests. According to a report that shows arrests statistics between 2009 and 2011, 91 percent of all marijuana in arrests in D.C. were of black residents—mostly men—despite the fact that reported marijuana use between white and black residents is nearly split down the middle.

Of course, now that the city's marijuana laws have changed, what will become of those who have a record for marijuana-related crimes that are, as of today, no longer illegal? Under a bill passed in October, those with non-violent misdemeanor or felony marijuana possession charges on their criminal records can now have their court records sealed for good.

Though marijuana is now legal, D.C. still has a ways to go before it can be compared to Colorado or California. Despite threats from Congress, the law went into effect. But the promise of a proper taxation and regulation system, allowing residents to legally buy marijuana from grow centers, which would be taxed and regulated like alcohol, doesn't look to good.

Even with the District's new law, many questions remain, such as how will you find someone who will just give you weed? Or, if you want to grow, how can you obtain seeds, since you can't buy them? The legal answer is a big question mark. The non-legal answer is you get it the same way you got it before. Or, you can always try applying for a medical marijuana license and use that to legally purchase weed.