D.C. efforts to legalize recreational sales of marijuana have suffered another setback in the form of federal legislation.
The issue: a $1.5 trillion spending bill that Congress passed includes the ban on selling recreational weed inside of the District.
The ban on recreational marijuana sales has been in place for about seven years, sparking controversy as nearby jurisdictions Maryland and Virginia both work to regulate weed sales.
Congressional Democrats said they did not want the ban in the spending bill but made concessions to Republican efforts in order to avoid a government shutdown.
Advocates for recreational sales said that the provision overrides the will of D.C. residents — District residents do not have voting representation in either chamber of Congress — years after they voted to legalize marijuana.
