DC’s congresswoman wants weed at US Botanic Garden
After successfully advocating for a hemp display at the U.S. Botanic Garden, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, the Democratic representative for D.C., has sent a letter requesting to introduce a marijuana display.
“As individual states and the country as a whole are moving toward the legalization of marijuana, having a display with male and female marijuana plants would be a historic opportunity to highlight the impact of marijuana on American society and, especially, the American economy,” Norton wrote in a letter to the garden’s executive director.
Should Norton’s request be granted, it would be the first time marijuana is displayed in the garden, a short walk from the U.S. Capitol.
In her letter, sent Wednesday, Norton cited that 21 states and D.C. have legalized marijuana. She noted that cannabis sales are projected to reach approximately $33.6 billion by the end of this year.
Though commercial sales of recreational marijuana are still not allowed in D.C., shops dubbed “Initiative 71 compliant” sell merchandise, such as T-shirts, which retailers reward buyers with a gift of marijuana.
Medical marijuana is legal in the District, and a licensed dispensary is in six of the city’s eight wards (none are in Wards 3 or 5).
In the two states surrounding the District, recreational marijuana sales remain illegal, though that’s soon changing in Maryland. Gov. Wes Moore signed a bill into law that will bring Maryland’s first legal recreational sales to the state on July 1.
In Virginia, adults over 21 can possess marijuana, but a legal recreational market is still absent from the state. Medical marijuana is, however, legal for purchase.
And although marijuana remains on the Drug Enforcement Administration’s controlled substances list, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed bills that would have removed cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, Norton said in her letter.
Norton requested a response to her proposal for a weed display at the U.S. Botanic Garden by May 24.
WTOP’s Hugh Garbrick contributed to this report.