D.C. Council Considers Medical Marijuana Bill

Medical marijuana could get the green light in the District. D.C. City Council member David Catania introduced a bill Tuesday that was co-sponsored by nine of the 13 members.

The bill is intended to implement the 1998 initiate approved by D.C. voters to allow the use of marijuana for medical treatment.

The legislation would permit five dispensaries to distribute up to a month's supply of marijuana to patients or their registered caregivers.

The measure calls for the mayor's office and the Department of Health to establish most of the regulations for how the policy would work.

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The exact details have yet to be determined. Any bill passed by the council, would then require the approval of the mayor.

Virginia Ponders Marijuana Laws

Meanwhile in Virginia, a Republican state legislator is proposing legislation to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana and to make it available for limited medical purposes.

Del. Harvey B. Morgan of Gloucester is set to outline his proposals at a news conference in Richmond on Wednesday.

Under Morgan's legislation, doctors could prescribe and pharmacists dispense medical marijuana. Virginia already has a statute on the books to allow treatment for cancer or glaucoma. The problem is the drug cannot legally be distributed.

A pharmacist, Morgan's bill would make possession of small amounts of marijuana a civil offense, rather than a crime, and increase the amount a person can possess without being considered a drug dealer.