Washington D.C. supporters of marijuana delivered more than double the signatures needed to put legalizing marijuana on the ballot, an initiative that could face congressional opposition, according to Reuters.
Adam Eidinger, chairman of the DC Cannabis Campaign, said the group had collected about 57,000 signatures to put the measure on a Nov. 4 ballot in the U.S. capital, well over the 22,373 required by law, Reuters reported.
"This would not open up stores. This would not lead to D.C. becoming a tourist haven," Eidinger told reporters at the District of Columbia Board of Elections, according to Reuters. "This is just for the citizens who live here, the residents who pay taxes, to have the right to use marijuana freely in their homes without fear of arrest, harassment or a ticket," he added.
The measure would allow people 21 and older to possess up to 2 ounces of marijuana for personal use, Reuters reported. They also could grow up to six plants at home, three of them mature and flowering.
It allows for transfer of marijuana without payment from one person to another, but not sales, according to Reuters.
The petition could face opposition from Congress, which under the U.S. Constitution has oversight of the District of Columbia, Reuters reported.
A District law that would decriminalize possession of up to an ounce of cannabis was blocked last month by the Appropriations Committee in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, according to Reuters.
The committee approved a spending bill that included an amendment barring the city from spending money to legalize or reduce penalties for marijuana, which could include barring the elections board from printing ballots that include the legalization measure, Reuters reported.
Eidinger says members of Congress needed to realize that legalization is a civil rights issue and not a health issue, according to Reuters.
