introduced a new marijuana bill to the Council on Friday, October 9, 2020. This cannabis bill would reportedly allow the formerly incarcerated to work in the booming medical marijuana market today. While the state has already voted for the cultivation and possession of low-level marijuana in 2014, Marijuana Moment reports that dispensaries and retail sales of the drug are still largely prohibited.
DC MJ Bill to Allow Ex-Convicts to Work in the Cannabis
Apart from Councilman White, four other council members introduced the bill. The five councilmen in the District of Columbia are seeking to repeal a section of the Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1999. According to the DCist, A section of this bill currently prevents individuals with convictions or marijuana-related misdemeanor offenses to work as an employee, an agent, a director, or even a member of a medical dispensary or cannabis cultivation firm. Following the introduction of the proposed bill, the council members are planning to successfully change the stipulation found in the Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1999.
In a statement via social networking site Twitter, Councilman White said there is «no reason why those who’ve paid their debt to society should be locked out of this industry any longer». Marijuana Moment states that one of the programs will provide individuals with an «application fee waiver, technical assistance with the application, and assistance with applying for any required license» for former convicts who want to obtain a license for businesses and establishments that are owned by a majority or 51% of returning citizens.