October 25, 2021 1:34PM # Congress Should Let D.C. Enforce Its Own Marijuana Laws By [Jeffrey Miron](https://www.cato.org/people/jeffrey-miron) and Pedro Aldighieri --- SHARE Last week, Senate Democrats [removed](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/10/19/dc-marijuana-abortion-riders/) from their appropriations bill a provision, known as the Harris rider, that effectively prevents D.C. from legalizing marijuana sales and distribution. Confusingly, this proposal, presented before the Senate Appropriations Committee, is different from President Biden’s own budget bill, which still features the Harris rider. In 2014, D.C. voters approved a [ballot initiative](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Washington,_D.C._Initiative_71) legalizing cannabis sales, possession, and consumption for recreational purposes. Congress [responded](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_in_Washington,_D.C.) with the Harris rider, which bars the District government from enacting the law. The legal details are messy, but, as a result, the sale, purchase, and public consumption of marijuana remain illegal in D.C., even though possession, cultivation, and personal use are currently legal under District law. Removing the so-called Harris rider would be a welcome and long overdue measure. Federal marijuana prohibition has never made [sense](http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/19/opinion/miron-marijuana-legalization/index.html), and outright legalization at the federal level would be the [first-best policy](https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.9.4.175). Short of this, however, removing the Harris rider is a good step forward. As we have noted [before](https://www.realclearpolicy.com/articles/2021/10/20/the_safe_banking_act_is_a_good_step_toward_marijuana_legalization_799656.html), ample [data](https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/effect-state-marijuana-legalizations-2021-update) on state-level legalizations show no clear departure from pre-legalization trends when looking at outcomes such as cannabis consumption and prices. Effects on crime, suicides, and traffic accidents are either small or unclear. So legalizing recreational marijuana sales in D.C. would probably have minor effects. But it would bolster [tax revenues](https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/effect-state-marijuana-legalizations-2021-update#budgetary-impacts) and increase product quality, making marijuana safer for consumers. Not to mention expanding personal freedom. ##### Related Tags [Criminal Justice](https://www.cato.org/criminal-justice), [Drug War](https://www.cato.org/drug-war) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).