D.C. House delegate asks US Botanic Garden, on Capitol Hill grounds, to feature marijuana

D.C. House Democrat Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton is asking the U.S. Botanic Garden, on the grounds of Capitol Hill, to include  marijuana – to showcase the plants' "impact" on the U.S. economy.

After the Botanic Garden displayed hemp for its first time, Norton sent a letter to Executive Director Susan Pell, saying she liked the facility's hemp display and enquired about having a marijuana one, too.

"As individual states and the country as a whole are moving toward the legalization of marijuana, having a display with male and female marijuana plants would be a historic opportunity to highlight the impact of marijuana on American society and, especially, the American economy," Norton wrote in the letter last week.

Hemp and marijuana are different varieties of cannabis, but hemp is used for fiber, food, personal care products and other goods, whereas marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law.

"According to recent statistics, states that legalized marijuana sales collected an estimated 20% more in taxes on retail marijuana sales than on the sale of alcohol products in 2021," Norton also wrote in her letter.

Cannabis sales in the U.S. are projected to reach $50 billion-plus by 2027, said Holmes Norton, who as a House delegate cannot cast final floor votes. 

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.