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.

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.

State officials dump 17,000 otherwise valid signatures without contacting a notary about their allegedly inconsistent sign-off.