DC Council votes to ban pot smoking in private clubs

WASHINGTON (AP) -- District of Columbia lawmakers have voted to ban smoking pot in private clubs.

Tuesday's 7-6 vote by the D.C. Council comes two months after the council left the door open for pot clubs by creating a task force to study the issue.

Possession of up to 2 ounces of pot for personal use is legal in the nation's capital, but smoking in public remains illegal. Pot advocates argued that private clubs would provide a safe place for people to smoke outside the home.

But Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser has maintained that unregulated pot clubs would be bad for the city and create problems for police. Congress has barred the city from any further liberalization of its pot laws, including taxation or regulation of the drug.