D.C. Council approves medical pot

The D.C. Council gave final approval Tuesday to a measure that would allow residents to buy government-sanctioned marijuana for medical use, but only after members agreed to make it easier for qualified patients to obtain larger quantities of the drug.

The bill, which now goes to Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), originally restricted chronically ill patients with a doctors’ recommendation to no more than two ounces of marijuana in a 30-day period. But the council approved an amendment giving the Fenty administration the authority to set the possession limit at four ounces a month if it decides the need exists.

If, as expected, Fenty signs the bill, Congress will get 30 days to review it before it become law.