Overruling their own rules, the Council of the District of Columbia Committee, passed a bill to permanently ban consumption of marijuana in private bars. More so, it went against the will of the voters who had already passed initiative 71.
The bill in question was passed rather unusually. The public was only informed minutes before markup. Committee members themselves only had less than 24-hrs to consider the bill. According to Kaitlyn Boecker of the National Affairs Office for Drug Policy Alliance, Mayor Bowser and Chairman Mendelson intended to sneak in the passage of the measure. This bill completely goes against what the people voted for and maintains the prohibition and restriction on adult marijuana use.
The passage of this bill violates all principles of Initiative 71. Private residences remains the only place where adults can legally smoke pot. Since the DC lawmakers chose to side with the bill, they have placed fear around unregulated marijuana sales and public consumption ahead of concerns raised by several council members and the public.