A recent Pew Research Center poll revealed that 88% of U.S. adults believe marijuana should be legalized for medical or recreational use. In the absence of action from Congress, states are taking the lead, demonstrating the need for national legislation that is in line with each state’s progressive policies. This overwhelming public support underscores the need for Congress to do what only the federal government can do: pass legislation that provides clarity to states and researchers, and supports legal operators while undermining the illegal market.
We applaud President Biden’s actions, including the 2022 pardons for people convicted of federal and DC simple possession offenses and his support for reclassifying cannabis. While these measures are laudable, significant work remains to be done. Bipartisan legislation, such as the Strengthening the 10th Amendment by Delegating to the States (States) Act, represents an important opportunity to close the gap between state and federal policies on cannabis. This bill would resolve banking access and capital lending issues that have made it difficult for legal cannabis businesses to thrive, provide law enforcement assistance to states that have chosen not to legalize or decriminalize cannabis, and make it easier for researchers to study cannabis. By aligning federal policy with state regulations, state legislation would ensure a safer legal cannabis market and support states that have chosen to legalize medical and adult-use cannabis while protecting states that have chosen to maintain prohibition.
Importantly, the bill also has support from law enforcement organizations such as the California Police Officers Research Association and the Oregon Police Sheriffs Association. This marks the first time these major law enforcement organizations have endorsed a cannabis bill.
Righting the injustice of past marijuana convictions is crucial. But we also need to look forward. The state bill is a vital step toward developing a coherent and effective national cannabis policy that allows the legal marijuana market to operate safely and efficiently, provide economic benefits, and avoid the mistakes and inequities of the past.
Shanita Penny, Washington
The writer is co-executive director of the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education and Control.
Regarding the June 22 editorial, “DC’s Jails Are Getting an Update, But Not One That Needs One”:
An editorial discussing which of DC’s new prison plans should move forward first makes no mention of the fundamental and urgently needed policy changes and the city’s Department of Corrections’ startling lack of transparency about current practices. No discussion of improving conditions in DC prisons includes the urgent need to release inmates, increase oversight, or end solitary confinement.
Counting people incarcerated in both city jails and federal facilities, DC has the highest incarceration rate in the country. With DC jail populations reaching their highest levels in the past five years in 2024, the best way to protect the rights and health of incarcerated people is to reduce the number of people incarcerated.
Ending the torturous practice of solitary confinement is a priority. Solitary confinement has been proven to cause serious psychological harm. There are frequent reports that placing people in solitary confinement is the default placement for those concerned about their safety or experiencing a mental crisis, yet the DOC does not inform the public about the extent and justification for solitary confinement.
Immediate legislative action is needed to address these human rights violations. The ERASE Solitary Confinement Act, introduced by DC City Council Member Brianne K. Nadeau (D-1st District), would end the use of solitary confinement in DC jails. If passed, this legislation would ensure more humane treatment for all inmates. The City Council should hold public hearings on the ERASE Act without delay and then pass it into law.
While the living conditions of people incarcerated are important, so too is how prison authorities treat inmates. By ending solitary confinement and inhumane practices and improving transparency and accountability, our corrections system can be transformed into a rehabilitative system that respects the dignity of every individual.
Jessica Sandoval, Silver Spring
The author is National Director of the Unlock the Box Campaign.
DC School Leadership
Regarding the June 22 Metro article, “Deputy Superintendent to Lead Education Department on an Interim Basis”:
DC needs a permanent leader in the education sector, and the statistics cited at the end of this short article make it clear that the city still has a long way to go: Only 18 out of 100 students who were in ninth grade during the 2011-2012 school year earned a higher education degree within six years of graduating high school.
This is a stark reminder of the failure of secondary schools to provide a good bridge from high school to college: not every student needs to earn a college diploma, but graduation rates should be at least 18 percent.
Martin Tillman, Washington
Regarding the June 22nd Metro article “Spain sees Democratic Party top vote-getter in board elections”:
In the Democratic primary for an open seat on the Arlington County Commission (effectively the city council), Julius D. “JD” Spain Sr. won a closely contested race with 52% of the vote. 95% of voters who cast their ballots using the ranked choice voting system Spain and runner-up Natalie U. Roy.
A very different outcome was seen just across the state border earlier this month: In the Democratic primary for Washington, D.C.’s vacant 7th District Congressional seat, Wendell Felder, one of 10 candidates, won with just under 24% of the vote. The next two candidates received 20.2% and 20.1%, respectively, a difference of just 16 votes.
These two elections clearly demonstrate the value of ranked-choice voting. Arlington voters could rank their top three candidates for County Commission. Even if the first choice didn’t have a chance to win, their vote would count toward the primary candidate’s victory, giving a bigger say in the outcome in a close race and increasing the chances that candidates could build a real coalition. Washington, D.C. voters had no such luck, and Felder and his opponents never had a chance to demonstrate that they had the voters’ mandate.
By any metric, ranked-choice voting has been a logistical success in Arlington: In exit polls, 88% of voters said it was easy, 67% said they would use it again, and support was strong across majorities of all ages and races.
DC has an opportunity to adopt this same voting method: If Initiative 83 is on the November ballot, DC voters would be able to choose whether to use ranked choice voting in primary and general elections, and unaffiliated voters would be able to vote in tax-funded party primaries. (State law already allows most cities and counties in Virginia to choose ranked choice voting in local elections.) DC residents shouldn’t miss this opportunity.
Lisa D.T. Rice, Washington
Liz White, Chesterfield, Virginia
Rice leads Make All Votes Count DC, which supports Initiative 83. White is executive director of UpVote Virginia.
While it was encouraging that The Washington Post quickly reported the results of the June 18 Democratic primary in Arlington, the most significant fact about this election is that less than 13 percent of registered voters voted. The shockingly low turnout in a November proxy election for Arlington County Council is a shocking example of voters’ disinterest in civic engagement.
Margaret McKelvey, Arlington
Philip Kennicott’s June 23 review, “A Library Worthy of Shakespeare,” nicely describes the Folger Shakespeare Library’s new $80 million renovation. He captures the tension between the library’s efforts to reach out to the public and expand its collection to include broader areas of interest, such as race, Renaissance cuisine, medicine, and the role of women, and its inability to move away from its “Bard cult,” which has led to the display of 82 first editions “like treasures in a vault, or corpses in a morgue.”
No one is likely to be interested in seeing 82 first editions unless they are an avid Shakespeare scholar. The Folger could use its space to create an exhibition that will appeal to the general public and show why Shakespeare studies can be interesting, fun and meaningful.
Literary studies has been in decline for some time, in the wake of STEM fields. It may be true, as Folger Library director Michael Whitmore told Kennicott, that “we did all we could while the patient was lying on the operating table.” But to perform a successful operation, surgeons must consider how best to re-adapt the patient to the world in which they must survive. Displaying the first 82 folios will not help the Folger Library recover, nor will it generate the public attention it needs to survive.
It is not too late to rethink this. Once the museum opens, replace the First Folio with a traveling exhibition that sparks interest and inspiration in the public, and shows them why they should continue to pay attention to the poet. Shakespeare’s work is still important even if the Folio exhibition is not.
Elizabeth Waugaman, Rockville
