DC legalizes weed, sky yet to fall down

Marijuana became legal in D.C. on Thursday but opposition from Congress will keep the drug from being sold in the city.

Mayor Muriel Bowser defiantly moved forward with the voter-approved legalization measure, which allows residents to possess up to two ounces of marijuana and grow up to six plants at home.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) told The Washington Post on Wednesday that Bowser could be arrested if she went through with legalization, but that hasn’t happened.

A spending bill passed by Congress in December blocks D.C. from creating regulations to sell and tax marijuana. Residents can now legally grow at home, however, and the city’s lone hydroponics shop expects an increase in customers.

While American politicians might be divided about marijuana legalization in the U.S., this Russian official seems to have a clear-eyed view of the new policy.

Maraschino cherry factory was a front for marijuana business

After the owner of a Brooklyn maraschino cherry factory shot and killed himself on Tuesday, authorities in New York City found something they didn’t expect: an underground marijuana farm.

The day started with a much different investigation. Officials from the state Department of Environmental Conservation visited the factory to look for evidence the company had been illegally dumping toxic substances into the area water supply.

While searching for files in the offices of the owner, Arthur Mondella, investigators smelled marijuana and noticed some suspiciously flimsy shelving.

Mondella then locked himself in a bathroom and told his sister, who was in the room with authorities, to “take care of my kids” before shooting himself, The New York Times reported.

Rand Paul still ripping Jeb Bush over marijuana stance

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) called out former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Wednesday night for his “hypocrisy” on the issue of medical marijuana.

“When Jeb was a very wealthy kid at a very elite school, he used marijuana but didn’t get caught, didn’t have to go to prison,” Paul said on FOX News. “I think it shows some hypocrisy that’s going to be very difficult for young people to understand why we’d put a 65-year-old guy in jail for medical marijuana.”

This has become a running theme for Paul, who made similar comments about Bush last month. The two politicians are possible contenders for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.

Update, Feb. 27, 1 p.m. ET: A previous version of this piece stated that marijuana could not be purchased in D.C. The measure approved by voters does in fact allow residents to purchase limited amounts of marijuana, but not sell.

Ted Hesson was formerly the immigration editor at Fusion, covering the issue from Washington, D.C. He also writes about drug laws and (occasionally) baseball. On the side: guitars, urban biking, and fiction.