The end of a weed paradise

Based in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C., Lit City is part of the District’s thriving gifting industry. Nine years ago, the city passed Initiative 71, making it legal to possess up to two ounces of marijuana for personal use. The law also created a loophole allowing stores to “gift” their customers small amounts of weed as long as they also buy another item, often at an exorbitant price, such as an 11-word motivational speech for $60 or a $95 Spiderman sticker. …

Ironically, this system functions better than most regulated cannabis markets because, other than the gifting gimmick, weed is treated pretty much like any other good that consumers can just walk into a store and buy.

Meanwhile, in states like California, recreational marijuana is so heavily regulated that sellers are struggling to turn a profit and many consumers would rather buy on the black market because prices are so high.

So what’s the D.C. government doing with this successful model for recreational weed?

Trying to shut it down.

[Sorry not sorry. This is a stupid way to regulate a market, even if it is functioning well at the moment. It’s ludicrous to pretend to outlaw sales of cannabis while opening a loophole that makes a mockery of the ban, and more importantly makes it completely unenforceable without the accountability to the voters it requires. The market should be straightforwardly regulated; either it’s legal to sell it or it’s not. Defending this is a form of an ends-justifying-means that puts weed sales above rational self-governance. — Ed]