Reporters Paul Schwartzman and Annys Shin fill 28 paragraphs with copy from pot smokers and pot lobbyists and pot dealers, and nowhere in those 28 paragraphs of mostly anonymous weed enthusiasts is there a single critic of marijuana, or of the fraudulent nature of "medical use" with the pretense of "trouble sleeping" or how media outlets in Los Angeles now report more pot dispensaries than Starbucks locations.
Instead, the Post suggests the the Council isn't poised to display once again the District's social liberalism on drugs, it's merely acknowledging current realities:
The D.C. Council is set to vote Tuesday on legalizing medical marijuana, thereby allowing the chronically ill -- including those with HIV, glaucoma or cancer -- to buy pot from dispensaries in Washington.
Yet marijuana is already ubiquitous in many parts of the city, as demonstrated by federal surveys showing that Washingtonians' fondness for weed is among the strongest in the country -- and growing.
The popular image of the nation's capital leans toward the straight and narrow, a town of over-achieving, button-down bureaucrats, lawyers and lobbyists. But meander through any neighborhood from Congress Heights to Friendship Heights, and Washingtonians across race and class lines can be found lighting up.
"It's absolutely pervasive and accepted," said a 44-year-old sales manager who lives with his wife and three children in the city's Chevy Chase section. He estimates he spends $3,000 a year on pot. After a recent pickup hockey game, he found himself sharing a joint with a beer distributor and the vice president of a technology company.
This story should almost come with a disclaimer that the reporters Paul Pot and Annys Cannabis didn't get baked in the making of this report.
Previously: Pot-friendly Post sports columnist Sally Jenkins absolves bong-hitting swimmer Michael Phelps
