​D.C. residents toke up as conservative legislators fume

WASHINGTON -- Adam Eidinger didn't waste any time. As soon as recreational marijuana became legal on Thursday, the man who led the effort invited the press over to watch as he smoked a joint at his District of Columbia home.

"It feels great, it feels like freedom," said Eidinger.

In November, district voters overwhelmingly approved Initiative 71, which allows adults to grow up to six plants and carry up to two ounces of pot. It's still illegal to sell the drug or smoke it outdoors. But some Republicans in Congress say it's all against the law.

"If you live in the District of Columbia, under the United States constitution, you live under the jurisdiction of Congress," said Maryland Rep. Andy Harris. "Congress has the final say."

In December, Congress prohibited the city from spending any money to legalize pot. But D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser says the voters had already spoken.

"We would encourage the Congress to not be so concerned about overturning what seven out of ten voters said should be the law in the District of Columbia," said Mayor Bowser.

Two members of a house committee that oversees the district told the mayor she is in "willful violation of the law," and demanded names of employees who worked on the initiative.

"There's up to two years prison time," said Rep. Harris. "You lose your job. There are fines involved. It's a serious violation, because it's taking taxpayer money and spending it for something that Congress says you specifically can't spend taxpayer dollars on."

"We believe that we're acting lawfully," Mayor Bowser said. "So I have a lot of things to do here in the District of Columbia and me being in jail wouldn't be a good thing."

As for jail time, it would be up to the attorney general to prosecute and that's unlikely in a democratic administration. It should also be noted that pot isn't legal in all of D.C. It's forbidden on federal owned land, including all the monuments and museums.