WASHINGTON (AP) - House Republicans want to continue blocking the District of Columbia from allowing legal marijuana sales.
The House Appropriations Committee released a draft spending bill on Wednesday that would maintain the ban on the District spending any money to liberalize its marijuana laws.
Mayor Muriel Bowser legalized pot possession in the District in February, despite a threat from Congress that doing so would violate federal law. Bowser and other District leaders argued that Congress acted too late to stop a voter-approved initiative from taking effect.
However, Congress successfully blocked the District from taxing or regulating pot. That means while residents of the nation's capital can grow their own pot and give it away, they can't buy or sell it.
The appropriations bill also continues a longstanding ban on city government-funded abortions.
