Marijuana is now (mostly) legal in America's capital

As of midnight Thursday, marijuana is legal to grow and use at home in Washington, D.C., for everyone 21 and older. District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a news conference Wednesday evening that the voter-approved legalization measure would go through, despite threats from House Republicans to send her to prison for violating the Anti-Deficiency Act. "I have a lot of things to do in the District of Columbia," Bowser said in the televised conference. "Me being in jail wouldn't be a good thing." She also explained the rules:

House Republicans backed down after their threat, saying they would leave any legal repercussions to the Justice Department. Marijuana legalization advocates are ecstatic that Washington has embraced legal weed. "The nation's capital has an exaggerated impact," Keith Stroup, legal counsel at NORML, tells The Washington Post. "If Washington, D.C., can legalize marijuana and the sky doesn't fall, things will get a lot easier in these other states."

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