For a brief time Tuesday, the D.C. Council embraced a new, much more relaxed version of marijuana legalization, voting to allow pot smoking at rooftop bars, sidewalk patios and most any other place a city resident declared to be a private pot club. That lasted just about 30 minutes.

After appeals from Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), who argued that there would be no way to rein in open pot use once current restrictions were lifted, the council reversed itself.

But several lawmakers said their change of heart could be short-lived, and the council agreed to reconsider the issue within four weeks.

That leaves open the question of how the council, Bowser and perhaps Congress will resolve a major disagreement about how lenient the city should be in regulating the smoking of pot in public.

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Aaron C. Davis ~ Washington Post ~