A Republican congressman from Florida brought a fake joint to a congressional hearing in order to draw attention to conflicting marijuana laws that are passed by states and the federal government, CBS News reported.
Representative John Mica whipped out the fake joint during a Friday hearing of the House Oversight Committee's Government Operations subpanel on Capitol Hill.
"Don't get too excited out there, some of you, this is not a real one," Mica said with the joint in hand.
The representative said there are 26 federal agencies in the District of Columbia alone that are in charge of implementing federal laws, CBS News reported. Those agencies include the U.S. Capitol Police, the U.S. Park Police and the Secret Service. All of them ban pot use.
But those laws are ignored when states decriminalize marijuana, Mica claims. The D.C. city council passed a bill earlier this year that decriminalized marijuana use. Mica said that law is an issue because the federal government has jurisdiction over most of D.C., CBS News reported.
"The law we're talking about will impact... not only the people of the District but the people of the United States, and we have millions and millions of people visiting us each year," Mica said according to CBS News.
There are two states that have legalized recreational pot use, followed by 18 states that have passed pot decriminalization laws.
Even though D.C. voted to decriminalized pot, the bill may not take effect if Congress intervenes. The legislature is to review the bill, during which it could strike it down if it's seen as inappropriate, CBS News reported.
However, in recent years Congress has gone along with D.C.'s laws. That appears to be the case this time around.
As the debate continues, one representative, Democrat Steven Cohen from Tennessee, said D.C. is the perfect testing ground to see if society can handle more freedom to use pot.
There is "no better laboratory than right here where the members are situated, where they can see and experience...how this law affects the populace," Cohen said according to CBS News.
