Democratic Congresswoman Blasts Efforts To Restrict D.C. Marijuana Laws, Vowing To ‘Continue To Fight’ For Reform

A Democratic congresswoman representing Washington, D.C. says she intends to “continue to fight” against efforts by her GOP colleagues to interfere with the District’s marijuana laws, vowing to again push for the removal of a spending bill rider that’s long prevented a commercial cannabis market.

Speaking at the National Cannabis Policy Summit on Monday, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said that despite the growing state-level legalization movement, “the federal government continues to block progress on marijuana legalization in D.C. and nationally.”

“It is past time for the federal government to catch up with the American people and legalize adult-use marijuana,” she said.

But while recent administrations from both major parties have taken a largely hands-off approach to state cannabis laws, Norton noted that “the federal government has a unique role in marijuana policy in D.C. because it holds plenary authority under the Constitution.

That means “Congress can legislate on any D.C. matter at any time,” and “Congress has consistently used that authority to interfere in D.C. marijuana policies, both medical and adult-use,” she said.

It’s past time for the federal government to catch up with the American people and legalize adult-use marijuana nationally.

Until then, Congress should keep its #HandsOffDC‘s cannabis policy, as I said today at the National Cannabis Policy Summit. pic.twitter.com/RJvT10out3

— Eleanor #DCStatehood Holmes Norton (@EleanorNorton) April 28, 2025

What Norton didn’t mention in her speech is the fact that the District’s marijuana laws have recently been threatened in an especially direct way under the Trump administration, with a U.S. attorney warning a licensed cannabis dispensary that it may be subject to federal prosecution, in part due to its proximity to certain schools.

Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin said in an interview that shutting down licensed marijuana dispensaries doesn’t “rise to the top” of his priorities, but his “instinct is that it shouldn’t be in the community.”

Marijuana Moment reached out to Norton’s office for comment on the federal prosecutor’s threat letter to the locally approved cannabis dispensary, but a representative said she was declining to comment on that specific situation.

At the cannabis summit, however, Norton focused on the appropriations rider, championed by Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), that’s blocked D.C. from allowing adult-use marijuana sales, despite voter approval of a ballot measure to legalize possession and home cultivation over a decade ago.

“As Congress works on the fiscal year 2026 appropriation bill, I will continue to fight to remove this rider,” she said, while referencing a recent statement from the White House that called the District’s move to enact local marijuana reform an example of a “failed” policy that “opened the door to disorder.”

“President Trump has opposed D.C. legalizing the sale of adult-use marijuana during his first term [and] recently issued an executive order regarding D.C.,” she said. “Among other things, the executive order criticized D.C. for legalizing marijuana. Until D.C. is a state, Congress will control D.C.’s local matters.”

Norton also previewed her plans to reintroduce legislation “that would allow marijuana in public or other federal-assisted housing in compliance with marijuana laws where the property is located, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s rules on on smoking cigarettes.”

“I will introduce this bill again this Congress,” the lawmaker said, adding that she also intends to file legislation that “would give D.C. the authority to grant clemency for D.C/ crimes, including those relating to marijuana—just like states grant clemency for state crimes, for D.C. crimes.”

“If we continue to fight, I believe marijuana will be legalized nationally and D.C. will be a state,” Norton said.

—Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.—

Meanwhile last week, an activist who received a pardon for a marijuana-related conviction during Trump’s first term paid a visit to the White House, discussing future clemency options with the recently appointed “pardon czar.”

Separately, a marijuana industry-backed political action committee (PAC) has released a series of ads over recent weeks that have attacked Biden’s cannabis policy record as well as the nation of Canada, promoting sometimes misleading claims about the last administration while making the case that Trump can deliver on reform.

Its latest ad accused former President Joe Biden and his Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of waging a “deep state war” against medical cannabis patients—but without mentioning that the former president himself initiated the rescheduling process that marijuana companies want to see completed under Trump.

Adding uncertainty to that process, Trump’s pick to lead DEA, Terrance Cole, is on record repeatedly voicing concerns about the dangers of marijuana and linking its use to higher suicide risk among youth.

Cole said during a confirmation hearing on Wednesday that examining the proposal to federally reschedule marijuana will be “one of my first priorities” if he’s confirmed for the role, saying it’s “time to move forward” on the stalled process.

However, he repeatedly declined to commit to support the specific proposed rule to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) that was initiated under the Biden administration.

The current acting administrator, Derek Maltz, has separately made a series of sensational claims about marijuana, calling it a gateway drug that sets children up to use other substances, suggesting marijuana use is linked to school shootings and alleging that the Justice Department “hijacked” the cannabis rescheduling process from DEA.

Last month, DEA notified an agency judge that the marijuana rescheduling process is still on hold—with no future actions currently scheduled as the matter sits before Maltz.

Meanwhile, a recent poll found that a majority of Republicans back a variety of cannabis reforms. And notably, they’re even more supportive of allowing states to legalize marijuana without federal interference compared to the average voter.

The survey showed that majorities of overall voters (70 percent) and GOP voters (67 percent) back rescheduling cannabis.

The survey was first noted by CNN in a report in March that quoted a White House spokesperson saying the administration currently has “no action” planned on marijuana reform proposals, including those like rescheduling and industry banking access that Trump endorsed on the campaign trail last year.

The White House has also said that marijuana rescheduling is not a part of Trump’s drug policy priorities for the first year of his second term—a disappointment for advocates and stakeholders who hoped to see him take speedier action.

Meanwhile, former marijuana prisoners who received clemency from Trump during his first term staged an event outside the White House earlier this month, expressing gratitude for the relief they were given and calling on the new administration to grant the same kind of help to others who are still behind bars for cannabis.

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Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.

Congresswoman Calls On Biden To Let D.C. Legalize Marijuana Sales And Grant Clemency Locally

A congresswoman says President Joe Biden’s marijuana pardons represent a promising step in the right direction, but she’s calling on the administration to follow up by allowing Washington, D.C. to establish a commercial cannabis market and grant clemency on its own.

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said that she appreciates that the president issued pardons for people who’ve committed cannabis possession offenses in the District, along with the roughly 6,500 people who made the violation under federal law, but the clemency process needs to be reformed.

After Biden’s federal and DC marijuana pardons, which I applaud, I called on the Biden administration to end its support for the DC marijuana rider and to endorse giving DC clemency authority. #DCStatehood#HandsOffDC

— Eleanor #DCStatehood Holmes Norton (@EleanorNorton) October 6, 2022

As it stands, only the president is able to pardon people for D.C. violations, whereas most states have some independent process by which governors and pardon officials are able to provide that relief. So despite Biden’s call for governors to follow his lead, officials in D.C. have their hands statutorily tied.

Norton also pointed out that the president’s last two budget proposals maintained a GOP-sponsored rider that’s blocked D.C. from using local tax dollars to implement a regulated marijuana market, despite voters in the jurisdiction voting to legalize cannabis in 2014.

Under the Constitution, Congress has plenary power over both DC & territories. Congress has chosen to allow the territories to commercialize recreational marijuana and to prosecute & grant clemency for all crimes under their laws. It should choose to do the same for DC. (2/6)

— Eleanor #DCStatehood Holmes Norton (@EleanorNorton) October 13, 2022

The congresswoman said that the policy represents a “shocking violation of D.C. home rule by a Democratic administration.”

Further, “D.C. should not have to rely on the president to exercise mercy and mitigate the harms of unjust policies,” she said. “D.C. should have the authority to grant clemency for D.C. crimes, like the states and territories have for crimes under their laws. The Biden administration should publicly endorse giving D.C. this authority.”

Under a broader home rule bill that Norton is sponsoring that passed out of the House Oversight Committee last month, the District would be given exclusive clemency authority for people who’ve committee local crimes.

Today, @OversightDems passed my DC Home Rule Expansion Act, which would be the biggest expansion of DC home rule since passage of the DC Home Rule Act in 1973.

Statement: https://t.co/FncXxa7Okrpic.twitter.com/ZqiuKS5yND

— Eleanor #DCStatehood Holmes Norton (@EleanorNorton) September 20, 2022

Meanwhile, a poll released last month found that D.C. voters strongly support marijuana legalization and oppose a crackdown on the cannabis “gifting” market that’s emerged in the absence of regulated sales.

D.C. lawmakers also recently sent letters to House and Senate Appropriations Committees leadership, imploring them to remove the rider preventing local cannabis sales as part of Fiscal Year 2023 spending legislation.

Second, the federal government prosecutes most DC crimes committed by adults and some by juveniles. DC prosecutes some DC crimes committed by adults and most by juveniles. The DC prosecutor should be accountable to DC. #HandsOffDC (4/6)

— Eleanor #DCStatehood Holmes Norton (@EleanorNorton) October 13, 2022

“This is not simply an injustice, it is untenable. It is estimated that cannabis sales in the District exceed $600 million annually,” the lawmakers wrote. “A vast majority of these sales are unregulated because of the rider, complicating efforts to ensure consumer and public safety and jeopardizing the financial viability of legitimate medical cannabis businesses licensed to operate in the District.”

The House passed the relevant spending bill for FY 2023 in July, excluding the D.C. marijuana prohibition language. In the Senate, the legislation that’s currently on the table from the Democratic Appropriations Committee chairman also omits the rider.

Biden has faced consistent criticism from reform advocates over his last two budget proposals that have included the rider, despite the fact that he’s voiced support for D.C. statehood and for letting states set their own marijuana policies without federal interference.

Last month, pending Senate passage of my House-passed #DCStatehood bill, the House Committee on Oversight & Reform passed my DC Home Rule Expansion Act, which, among other things, gives DC the authority to prosecute and grant clemency for all DC crimes. #HandsOffDC (6/6)

— Eleanor #DCStatehood Holmes Norton (@EleanorNorton) October 13, 2022

As Congress decides the fate of the rider, the D.C. Council has separately enacted what is effectively a workaround to the federal blockade, passing a bill in late June that allows people to self-certify themselves as patients under the District’s existing medical cannabis program, through with they can access dispensaries—without needing to get a recommendation from a doctor.

Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) signed the bill about a week after it passed, and in the first month of the new policy coming into effect, the District saw a surge in medical cannabis registrations.

Bowser, Norton and other elected officials in the city have routinely criticized Congress for singling out the District and depriving it of the ability to do what a growing number of states have done without federal interference.

Norton told Marijuana Moment in a phone interview in July that she’s “fairly optimistic” that the rider will not be included in the final spending package. She added that the D.C. self-certification policy is an “effective workaround” until then.

The patient self-certification provision of the measure represents a significant expansion of another piece of legislation enacted into law this year that allows people 65 and older to self-certify for medical cannabis without a doctor’s recommendation.

Meanwhile, the mayor signed a bill in July that bans most workplaces from firing or otherwise punishing employees for marijuana use.

The reform is designed to build upon on a previous measure lawmakers approved to protect local government employees against workplace discrimination due to their use of medical cannabis.

While not directly related to the policy change, a D.C. administrative court recently reversed the termination of a government employee and medical cannabis patient who was fired after being suspected of intoxication on the job and subsequently tested positive for marijuana in late 2020. It also ordered the Office of Unified Communications (OUC) to reimburse the worker for all back pay and benefits.

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Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.

More Than 50 Marijuana And Civil Rights Groups Demand Congress Lift Ban On D.C. Cannabis Sales

More than 50 leading marijuana advocacy and civil rights organizations sent a letter to congressional leaders and appropriators on Friday, asking that they finally allow recreational cannabis sales to begin in Washington, D.C.—eight years after voters approved a local legalization ballot measure.

Specifically, the groups—led by the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA)—say they want to “maintain” the removal of the D.C. language in a spending bill approved by the House last year and circulated in draft form in the Senate. The District is currently prohibited from using its local tax dollars to implement a system of regulated marijuana sales due to the appropriations rider that’s been annually approved since 2014.

“It is imperative to both public health, public safety, and for Congress’ support of the District’s right to home rule that the removal of the Harris rider is maintained,” the letter says, referring to the anti-legalization sponsor of the rider Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD).

“Without the ability to regulate marijuana sales, the grey market for marijuana flourishes despite the need and want of the District leadership and residents alike to establish a regulatory model,” the groups wrote. “Such a model would free up law enforcement resources to focus on threats to public safety. It would also allow legitimate entrepreneurs to start businesses, create jobs and spur economic development in the District.”

“It is of utmost importance that the District of Columbia be granted the same capacity as states around the nation that have voted to regulate adult use of marijuana and deliver on the promises of Initiative 71,” the letter continues.

—Marijuana Moment is already tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.—

Signatories of the letter include groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, AFL-CIO’s Washington Metropolitan Council, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, National Association of Social Workers, Competitive Enterprise Institute, NORML, BOWL PAC, Dr. Bronner’s, DC Vote, DC Marijuana Justice, R Street Institute and Weedmaps.

“It is time for Congress to support the District of Columbia’s right to self-determination and lift the rider prohibiting them from regulating marijuana,” the letter concludes.

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) thanked the groups for advocating for the right of D.C. to enact cannabis commerce. She said in November that she is “closer than ever” to removing the blockade on cannabis commerce in her district.

Thank you to the 50+ national and DC groups, led by @DrugPolicyOrg, that sent a letter today calling on Congress to remove the rider that prohibits DC from using its local funds to commercialize recreational marijuana. #HandsOffDC

Full letter: https://t.co/09UzgGgrDH

— Eleanor #DCStatehood Holmes Norton (@EleanorNorton) March 4, 2022

While there appears to be shared interest among House and Senate Democrats in ending the D.C. ban as part of the fiscal year 2022 appropriations session, achieving that goal may be logistically complicated.

The leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committee have reportedly reached an agreement on framework spending legislation after repeatedly extending government funding past last October’s original deadline through a series of short-term continuing resolutions. The latest deadline is March 11.

All four committee leaders handling appropriations reportedly agreed to continue negotiations about adding or removing existing riders in the future, raising doubts about the prospects of eliminating the D.C. language this round due to opposition from top Republicans.

Unhelpfully, from advocates’ perspective, President Joe Biden’s own budget proposal sought to continue the GOP-led ban.

“In one hand, Congress continues to make strides in advancing federal marijuana reform grounded in racial justice, while simultaneously being responsible for prohibiting the very jurisdiction that led the country in legalizing marijuana through this lens from being able to regulate it,” Queen Adesuyi, senior national policy manager for DPA, said in a press release. “This conflict and contradiction must end now.”

“Leadership passing on this historic chance to be on the right side of history—in standing for both marijuana reform and democracy—would be demoralizing, and a clear sign that there is a stronger commitment to use D.C. as a bargaining chip than on the values of marijuana justice and home rule,” she said. “We look forward to working with them to finally bring this injustice to a close and ensure D.C. residents’ voice and vote are respected.”

Several of the groups behind this new D.C. letter separately urged House leadership to put a bill to federally legalize marijuana—the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act—on the floor this month.

Meanwhile, back in D.C., lawmakers continue to gear up to enact legislation that would allow for marijuana sales, while also advancing other cannabis-related measures.

Lawmakers held a joint hearing in November on a pair of bills to authorize the legal sale of recreational marijuana and significantly expand the existing medical cannabis program in the nation’s capital.

A provision of the bill that could have led to a broad crackdown on the city’s unregulated market for recreational cannabis was removed, much to the relief of advocates who criticized the proposed measure over a component that would have punished businesses that “gift” marijuana in a manner that effectively circumvents the local prohibition on retail cannabis sales.

Marijuana possession and gifting is legal under a voter-approved 2014 initiative—but there currently isn’t a regulated market and people aren’t allowed to accept any form of renumeration for gifting.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) said last April that local officials are prepared to move forward with implementing a legal system of recreational marijuana sales in the nation’s capital just as soon as they can get over the final “hurdle” of congressional interference.

Bowser introduced a cannabis commerce bill last February, though her measure was not on the agenda for November’s hearing alongside the cannabis legalization proposal put forward by Mendelson.

Local marijuana activists also proposed an amendment to Mendelson’s legalization bill that would allow small entrepreneurs to sell cannabis at farmers markets. It’s not clear when D.C. lawmakers will convene again to vote on proposed changes and the overall legislation.

Last March, a federal oversight agency determined that the congressional rider blocking marijuana sales in D.C. does not preclude local officials from taking procedural steps to prepare for the eventual reform, such as holding hearings, even if they cannot yet enact it with the blockade pending.

Last week, a D.C. Council committee unanimously approved a bill to ban most workplaces from subjecting job applicants to pre-employment marijuana testing. It would expand on previous legislation the D.C. Council approved to protect local government employees against workplace discrimination due to their use of medical cannabis.

Bowser also recently signed a bill into law that will expand access to the District’s medical marijuana program in a series of ways.

Now, senior citizens will be able to self-certify their own eligibility for cannabis without having to get a recommendation from a doctor. The law also further extends the registration renewal deadline for patients and creates a week-long medical marijuana tax relief “holiday” that coincides with the unofficial cannabis event known as 4/20.

That bill also generally expand on prior emergency legislation that the Council approved at the height of the coronavirus pandemic to extend registration eligibility for the medical cannabis program. Patients under 65 with registrations will continue to be validated through at least September 30.

In 2019, another D.C. lawmaker proposed a separate medical cannabis reform bill meant to ease the registration process for patients. Instead of having to wait several weeks for regulators to process their medical cannabis approvals, patients would simply fill out an application with the city health department and would then automatically qualify to legally purchase marijuana on a provisional basis.

The legislation’s author, at-large Councilmember David Grosso (I), introduced a similar bill in 2017, though that version allowed residents to self-certify as medical marijuana patients—without the need to involve a doctor—by signing an affidavit, and it didn’t have the stipulation that their qualifications could be later rejected.

Separately, another group of activists announced an effort to pressure local lawmakers enact broad drug decriminalization, with a focus on promoting harm reduction programs, in the nation’s capital. A poll released last year found that voters are strongly in favor of proposals.

Read the letter from activists’ on the D.C. marijuana commerce ban rider below: 

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Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.