Arts & Entertainment
No pot uniformity in DMV region
Restrictions fewest in D.C.; tightest in Virginia
Be careful traveling throughout the region with pot in your possession. It’s illegal to transport across state lines.
Spend time in D.C., Maryland, Virginia and Rehoboth Beach? Be careful — cannabis laws vary significantly in our region.
The District has the freest laws. In Washington, medical and recreational cannabis use is legal for adults over 21. It joins eight states (Maine, Massachusetts, Colorado, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Alaska) as the pot-friendliest jurisdictions.
In Maryland, Delaware or if you venture into West Virginia, cannabis is approved for medical use with a doctor’s recommendation.
In Virginia (and throughout the Bible Belt), CBD-only (Cannabidiol) laws allow for some medical access. Virginia, however (along with Missouri), has the most expansive CBD laws of the 17 states with CBD-only laws.
Be careful traveling though — no states allow transport of cannabis across state lines.
Cannabis is prohibited in all forms in four states — Idaho, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas.
That means three-fifths of the country (60 percent) lives in an area where medical pot is legal. And more than one fifth of the country (21 percent) lives in a state with legal cannabis.
Other interesting cannabis numbers, courtesy of the 2018 publication “Marijuana Goes Mainstream”:
• 88 percent of Americans support the legalization of medical marijuana according to a CNN poll.
• 84 percent of Americans support ending jail sentences for those caught with small amounts of marijuana (CNN).
• 60 percent of Americans support outright legalization of marijuana according to Gallup.
• marijuana ranks third among recreational drugs in the U.S. after alcohol and tobacco according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
• 75 percent of U.S. marijuana sales come from California or Colorado (herb.com).
• $6.7 billion was paid for legal marijuana sales in the U.S. in 2016, up 30 percent from the previous year according to Arcview Market Research. It’s expected to hit more than $20 billion by 2021.
• Black market marijuana sales accounted for $46.4 billion in sales in 2016 (Arcview).
• Daily cannabis users average 600 extra calories a day (herb.com).
• 55 million Americans have tried pot at least once (Marist/Yahoo poll) and 35 million are regular users averaging once or twice-monthly use.
• smoking pot around your pets will affect them; symptoms of pets inhaling second-hand pot smoke include pacing, panting and loss of balance, usually within 30-60 minutes of exposure.
• 14 percent of U.S. marijuana smokers are Republicans (Marist/Yahoo).
• 11 percent of marijuana users say they hide their stash (Marish/Yahoo).
• 76 percent of Americans say marijuana is more of a health risk than tobacco (Marish/Yahoo).
• The famous Hollywood sign has been vandalized twice to read “Hollyweed” — in 1976 and 2017 according to the New York Times.
The Freddie’s Follies drag show was held at Freddie’s Beach Bar in Arlington, Va. on Saturday, Jan. 3. Performers included Monet Dupree, Michelle Livigne, Shirley Naytch, Gigi Paris Couture and Shenandoah.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
a&e features
Queer highlights of the 2026 Critics Choice Awards: Aunt Gladys, that ‘Heated Rivalry’ shoutout and more
Amy Madigan’s win in the supporting actress category puts her in serious contention to win the Oscar for ‘Weapons’
From Chelsea Handler shouting out Heated Rivalry in her opening monologue to Amy Madigan proving that horror performances can (and should) be taken seriously, the Critics Choice Awards provided plenty of iconic moments for queer movie fans to celebrate on the long road to Oscar night.
Handler kicked off the ceremony by recapping the biggest moments in pop culture last year, from Wicked: For Good to Sinners. She also made room to joke about the surprise hit TV sensation on everyone’s minds: “Shoutout to Heated Rivalry. Everyone loves it! Gay men love it, women love it, straight men who say they aren’t gay but work out at Equinox love it!”
The back-to-back wins for Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein and Amy Madigan in Weapons are notable, given the horror bias that awards voters typically have. Aunt Gladys instantly became a pop culture phenomenon within the LGBTQ+ community when Zach Cregger’s hit horror comedy released in August, but the thought that Madigan could be a serious awards contender for such a fun, out-there performance seemed improbable to most months ago. Now, considering the sheer amount of critics’ attention she’s received over the past month, there’s no denying she’s in the running for the Oscar.
“I really wasn’t expecting all of this because I thought people would like the movie, and I thought people would dig Gladys, but you love Gladys! I mean, it’s crazy,” Madigan said during her acceptance speech. “I get [sent] makeup tutorials and paintings. I even got one weird thing about how she’s a sex icon also, which I didn’t go too deep into that one.”
Over on the TV side, Rhea Seehorn won in the incredibly competitive best actress in a drama series category for her acclaimed performance as Carol in Pluribus, beating out the likes of Emmy winner Britt Lower for Severance, Carrie Coon for The White Lotus, and Bella Ramsey for The Last of Us. Pluribus, which was created by Breaking Bad’s showrunner Vince Gilligan, has been celebrated by audiences for its rich exploration of queer trauma and conversion therapy.
Jean Smart was Hack’s only win of the night, as Hannah Einbinder couldn’t repeat her Emmy victory in the supporting actress in a comedy series category against Janelle James, who nabbed a trophy for Abbott Elementary. Hacks lost the best comedy series award to The Studio, as it did at the Emmys in September. And in the limited series category, Erin Doherty repeated her Emmy success in supporting actress, joining in yet another Adolescence awards sweep.
As Oscar fans speculate on what these Critics Choice wins mean for future ceremonies, we have next week’s Golden Globes ceremony to look forward to on Jan. 11.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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