Republicans threaten D.C. mayor with prison if she legalizes pot

Republicans are not happy with D.C.'s mayor as he moves forward to legalize pot in the city
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House Republicans are not happy with Muriel E. Bowser, the mayor of Washington, D.C., who is moving ahead with a plan to legalize marijuana in the capital, a move that was approved by voters in a November referendum.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) told The Washington Post there would be consequences:

He said that if Bowser and city officials are "under any illusion that this would be legal, they are wrong. And there are very severe consequences for violating this provision. You can go to prison for this. We're not playing a little game here." [The Washington Post]

The dispute arises from D.C.'s unique (some would say undemocratic) governance structure, in which residents' tax dollars are overseen by Congress.

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Ryu Spaeth

Ryu Spaeth is deputy editor at TheWeek.com. Follow him on Twitter.