The Drama of Smoke and Mirrors on Marijuana

It has been pretty good theater. The drama of the last few days over the signing of the spending bill has been used to great effect by Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) and his allies. The last-minute hijinks have given them solid TV time to portray themselves to their constituents back home as the true protectors of the misguided souls in the District, the ones seeking to legalize marijuana for purely recreational purposes.

Clearly, Article I, Section 8, of the constitution says that Congress has the power to knock the bill off the rails in any manner it sees fit. But in actuality it (that is, they) didn’t. The House left a gaping hole in the legislation. While the omnibus spending bill states that the District is barred from spending any funds to “enact” the legislation, there is nothing that specifically precludes the District from moving forward as originally planned. The District considers legalization to be “self-executing,” not requiring federal approval.

It is unlikely that the omission of the key words was an accident. By not including “carry out” after “enact,” a door was left open by the Republican-led House Appropriations Committee allowing D.C. to retain its home-rule autonomy. As an added benefit, the charade gives Rep. Harris the chance to run victory laps around the Beltway for his hard stance against the demon weed. He has the perfect cover when legalization finally occurs: claiming that D.C. thwarted the will of Congress, using fancy, big-city lawyers to exploit a technicality.

All the parties may ultimately get what they want, but it isn’t without cost. D.C. residents have been rudely reminded in what little regard they are held by the federal government, which can, on a whim, trample the wishes of 600,000 citizens. It is yet another blow to the body politic, fostering an environment of “them” against “us.”

It seems the Feds have failed to learn what Machiavelli expressed so memorably five centuries ago: “Never do any enemy a small injury for they are like a snake which is wounded and it will strike back the first chance it gets.”