The Boycott of Maryland's 1st District (also known as the Boycott of Ocean City and Boycott of the Eastern Shore) is a boycott of the 1st Congressional District of Maryland in response to 2014 congressional legislation that interfered with the ability of the District of Columbia to pass its own laws. [1] The boycott was prompted by an appropriation amendment by Maryland Representative Andy Harris that would nullify DC laws on marijuana decriminalization. [2] [3]
In March 2014, the D.C. Council voted overwhelmingly to eliminate jail time for possession of marijuana, calling it necessary to combat deep racial disparities in drug arrests in the city. [4] In a January 2014 poll by The Washington Post , roughly eight in 10 city residents supported legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana. [4]
On June 25, 2014, House Republicans blocked funding for the D.C. law. [4] The effort to keep the District from loosening its marijuana laws was led by Andy Harris, a Republican in Congress representing Maryland's 1st District which includes the Eastern Shore and Ocean City. [4] [5] The Harris amendment bans the D.C. government from spending any funds on efforts to lessen penalties for Schedule I federal drug crimes. [1] Once enacted, the measure will interfere with DC's decriminalization law and a possible legalization ballot initiative. [2] [3]
Appropriations riders are a strategy frequently used to block unfavorable local legislation. It took a decade for medical marijuana backers to remove a rider preventing the District from moving forward with the system. [6] DC currently lacks voting representation in Congress and all locally passed laws must be sent to Congress for review and approval. [7]
In February 2015, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser implemented the popular legislation legalizing possession of marijuana. Harris said if one of his fellow Republicans captures the White House in 2016, he hopes they revisit Bowser's actions and prosecute her. [8]
The interference by Harris was viewed as a defeat for District of Columbia home rule, and the ability of its Democratic mayor and the DC council to self-govern. [4] [1] Harris explained his initiative by saying "Our constitution is very specific on how the federal enclave of the District of Columbia is to be treated". [9] Some speculated that Harris' interest in a leadership position in Congress prompted his amendment. [10]
It was uncertain if the legislation would force the city to shut down its entire medical marijuana program, which started in 2013. [4] In April 2014, Maryland became the latest of three states that have passed similar laws eliminating jail time for marijuana possession when Martin O'Malley signed a bill to move possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana from a criminal to a civil offense. [11] Harris argued that the D.C. law was "bad policy" assessing a fine of $25—a fraction of the $100 fine in Maryland.
On July 2, the ACLU and NAACP were among 41 other local and national organizations in delivering letters to all members of Congress urging them to oppose policy riders that would undermine the District's local autonomy. The groups, collectively representing millions of Americans, pledged a united front in opposing measures that they say "target" the district. [12]
The nonprofit group D.C. Vote called for an all-out boycott of vacation spots in the 1st Congressional District, saying Harris "acted in wanton disregard" of the views of D.C. residents. [13] [3] [14]
Before announcing the boycott, D.C. Vote said it had contacted local officials in the 1st district, informing them that the call for a boycott was not a reflection on them as businesses. It was emphasized that a similar attack on their local jurisdictions' laws would never be tolerated. [13] [15] [14] DC Vote Director Kimberly Perry explained that while District residents may not have a vote in Congress, they can vote with their wallets. [16] Alternate vacation spots in Delaware, Virginia and even Maryland were suggested instead of the Eastern Shore. [15]
Mayor Vincent Gray encouraged the boycott, saying "I don't think we should support someone who doesn't support us, who doesn't support democracy, period". [2] [17] Gray also suggested that those D.C. residents who do visit Harris's district might picket his office. [13] In response, Harris attacked the mayor for his loss in the primary election. [18]
Organizers identified "#BoycottMD1D" as their Twitter hashtag. [15]
Harris rebuffed efforts by DC Councilmember David Catania to meet with him about the boycott. [19]
Businesses in the Eastern Shore said that they hoped that other measures could be pursued besides a boycott of their businesses and said they welcome visitors of all political affiliations. [13]
Harris said city residents "know better" than to boycott his district's beauty spots. "Spending the weekend on the beautiful, family friendly Eastern Shore is more important than increasing drug use by D.C. teenagers." [13]
An initiative was launched encouraging businesses to ban Maryland Rep. Andy Harris and his congressional staff from their establishments. [20] At least one bike shop posted a picture of Harris with the words "Not Welcome". [21]
In 2015, protest efforts were re-energized following a segment on HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver . Organizers arranged buses to the Eastern Shore to educate tourists and protest Washingtonians' lack of voting rights, encouraging more calls to Harris' office. [22]
The District of Columbia statehood movement is a political movement that advocates making the District of Columbia a U.S. state. The District of Columbia is a federal district under the direct jurisdiction of the United States Congress. Unlike nearly all other states and territories that contain multiple cities, the District of Columbia only contains one (Washington), having subsumed the formerly separate municipality of Georgetown. Statehood would grant the District voting representation in the Congress and full control over local affairs. For most of the modern (1980–present) statehood movement, the new state's name would have been "New Columbia", although the Washington, D.C. Admission Act of 2020 refers to the proposed state as the "State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth."
The District of Columbia Home Rule Act is a United States federal law passed on December 24, 1973 which devolved certain congressional powers of the District of Columbia to local government, furthering District of Columbia home rule. In particular, it includes the District Charter, which provides for an elected mayor and the Council of the District of Columbia. The council is composed of a chairman elected at large and twelve members, four of whom are elected at large, and one from each of the District's eight wards. Council members are elected to four-year terms.
The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is the largest organization working solely on marijuana policy reform in the United States in terms of its budget, number of members, and staff. Its stated aims are to: (1) increase public support for non-punitive, non-coercive marijuana policies; (2) identify and activate supporters of non-punitive, non-coercive marijuana policies; (3) change state laws to reduce or eliminate penalties for the medical and non-medical use of marijuana; and (4) gain influence in Congress. MPP advocates taxing and regulating the possession and sale of marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol, envisions a nation where marijuana education is honest and realistic, and believes treatment for problem marijuana users should be non-coercive and geared toward reducing harm.
Maryland's 1st congressional district encompasses the entire Eastern Shore of Maryland, including Salisbury, as well as parts of Baltimore, Harford and Carroll counties.
In the United States, the non-medical use of cannabis is decriminalized in 16 states, and legalized in another 11 states, as of April 2020. Decriminalization refers to a policy of reduced penalties for cannabis offenses, typically involving a civil penalty for possession of small amounts, instead of criminal prosecution or the threat of arrest. In jurisdictions without any penalties the policy is referred to as legalization, although the term decriminalization is sometimes broadly used for this purpose as well.
Andrew Peter Harris is an American politician and physician who has been the U.S. Representative for Maryland's 1st congressional district since 2011. He is currently the only Republican member of Maryland's congressional delegation. Harris previously served in the Maryland Senate.
The legal history of cannabis in the United States pertains to the regulation of cannabis for medical, recreational, and industrial purposes in the United States. Increased restrictions and labeling of cannabis as a poison began in many states from 1906 onward, and outright prohibitions began in the 1920s. By the mid-1930s cannabis was regulated as a drug in every state, including 35 states that adopted the Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act. The first national regulation was the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937.
The establishment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in the District of Columbia is a relatively recent occurrence, with the majority of advances in LGBT rights having taken place in the late 20th century and early 21st century. Along with the rest of the country, the District of Columbia recognizes and allows same-sex marriage. The percentage of same-sex households in the District of Columbia in 2008 was at 1.8%, the highest in the nation. This number had grown to 4.2% by early 2015.
In the United States, the use and possession of cannabis is illegal under federal law for any purpose, by way of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Under the CSA, cannabis is classified as a Schedule I substance, determined to have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use – thereby prohibiting even medical use of the drug. At the state level, however, policies regarding the medical and recreational use of cannabis vary greatly, and in many states conflict significantly with federal law.
David Grosso is an American attorney and politician. He is an at-large member of the Council of the District of Columbia who lives in Brookland. A native Washingtonian, he graduated from Earlham College and Georgetown University Law Center. Grosso is a member of the D.C. Bar and served on the board of directors of Planned Parenthood Metropolitan Washington. He is a member of the Sierra Club, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and the ACLU.
The legal history of cannabis in the United States began with state-level prohibition in the early 20th century, with the first major federal limitations occurring in 1937. Starting with Oregon in 1973, individual states began to liberalize cannabis laws through decriminalization. In 1996, California became the first state to legalize medical cannabis, sparking a trend that spread to a majority of states by 2016. In 2012, Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize cannabis for recreational use.
Paul H. Zukerberg is an American activist, lawyer, and politician. Through a series of lawsuits and appeals, Zukerberg successfully ensured the direct election of the Attorney General of the District of Columbia in 2014 after the Council of the District of Columbia and incumbent Irv Nathan sought to postpone the vote.
Initiative 71 was a Washington, D.C. voter-approved ballot initiative that legalized the recreational use of cannabis. The short title of the initiative was Legalization of Possession of Minimal Amounts of Marijuana for Personal Use Act of 2014. The measure was approved by 64.87% of voters on November 4, 2014 and went into full effect on February 26, 2015.
Adam Eidinger is a Washington D.C. businessman and cannabis rights activist, known for his role in spearheading Initiative 71, which legalized cannabis in the District of Columbia in 2015.
Cannabis in Texas is illegal for recreational use. Possession of up to two ounces is a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in prison, a fine of up to $2000, and the suspension of one's driver's license. Several of the state's major municipalities have enacted reforms to apply lesser penalties, however.
Cannabis in Missouri is illegal but decriminalized. Medical use was legalized in 2018 through a ballot initiative to amend the state constitution.
A referendum on statehood for the District of Columbia was held on November 8, 2016. It was the second referendum on statehood to be held in the district. The District of Columbia was created following the passage of the Residence Act on July 9, 1790, which approved the creation of a national capital, the City of Washington on the Potomac River.
In Washington, D.C., cannabis is legal for recreational and medical uses, but is barred from commercial sale. Though the drug was fully legalized in the District following a 2014 ballot referendum, the United States Congress exercises oversight over the government of the District of Columbia, preventing the local government from regulating cannabis sales like other jurisdictions with authority derived from a U.S. state.
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, also known as the MORE Act, is a 2019 proposed piece of U.S. federal legislation that would deschedule cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and enact various criminal and social justice reforms related to cannabis, including the expungement of prior convictions. The legislation has been called "historic" in reaching "farther in the legislation process than any other such bill since prohibition" of cannabis in the 1930s, and marks "the first time in history a congressional committee has approved a bill to end federal marijuana prohibition".
