On Thursday, Washington, DC may have become the medical marijuana mecca of the United States. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that dispensaries in the nation’s capital will now accept valid medical marjiuana cards from any of the 27 states that have such systems.

Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser released the following plan this week:

Mayor Muriel Bowser has proposed the Safe Cannabis Sales Act of 2019 – legislation allowing for the sale of recreational cannabis in Washington, DC. The bill enhances public health and safety, provides clarity on the use of cannabis and cannabis products, and advances equity to ensure that that benefits of the new regime go to DC’s most vulnerable communities through jobs and investments in housing. Revenues collected on cannabis will be invested back into the community, focusing most on areas hardest hit by the criminalization of marijuana.

As the political will to enact federal legalization of medicinal or recreational marijuana continues to evade Senate and Congress, smaller jurisdictions across the country are putting their own regulation ordinance on the books. But this time, such proposed legislation is striking close to home for federal lawmakers; Washington D.C.’s Mayor Muriel E. Bowser introduced a bill on Thursday that would give the go-ahead to recreational cannabis sales in the nation’s capital.

President Trump's 2020 budget request includes a loophole that would let Washington, DC finally open up dispensaries for recreational cannabis, writes Calvin Hughes and James McClure.

According to D.C. government human resources rules first established in 2016, most city employees are allowed to take part in the District’s medical marijuana program.

But some employees in the Department of Public Works say they were told otherwise, leading to confusion, distress, and hesitance to use medical marijuana to treat ailments due to fear over their job security.

Another business is joining those aiming to ease the pain of the partial government shutdown for federal workers — a marijuana marketplace says it’s giving away free weed.

BudTrader.com, which describes itself as the “largest online cannabis marketplace” and has been dubbed the "Craigslist of weed," will offer free medical marijuana to government workers who can’t pay because of the shutdown.

The shutdown — which affects an estimated 800,000 federal workers and has stretched on for more than a month — stems from disagreements between President Trump and congressional Democrats over his request for more than $5 billion in funding for a border wall separating the United States and Mexico.

• Cannabis startups are sending veteran lobbyists to Capitol Hill in support of the STATES Act — a bill that would require the federal government to keep a hands-off approach on the decisions made by states on marijuana legalization.
• The bill was introduced last summer by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Cory Gardner (R-CO), showing there is broad, bipartisan support for cannabis reform. President Donald Trump even said he will "probably" end up supporting it.
• Tracking seed to sale is difficult, and the nearly $10 billion industry is dealing largely in cash, creating serious safety concerns for wholesalers, distributors, and dispensaries.

It’s shaping up to be another big year for cannabis, as politicians and policymakers move to destigmatize, decriminalize, and — in some cases — legalize the drug nationwide. In New York, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently presented his plan to legalize recreational cannabis throughout the state. Democrat Tim Walz, the newly elected governor of Minnesota, wants his state to be the next to legalize. And in Rhode Island, Democratic Gov.

President Donald Trump has vocally supported efforts towards marijuana reform, although nothing has actually been passed since he took office. But one Republican senator says he's still committed to those goals, writes Joseph Misulonas. 

The Congress that takes over next month will seem far more friendly to marijuana interests thanks to Democrats taking control of the House of Representatives. And marijuana interests are making sure they can get as much support as possible, writes Joseph Misulonas.