Marion Christopher Barry, 33, was arrested on August 16, 2013 during a traffic stop for erratic driving.
Barry was released into his own custody and is expected to appear in Hampton General District Court on November 13.
This is not the first time the younger Barry has been in trouble with the law for drug possession.
In 2011 he was sentenced to 18 months of supervised prohibition for felony possession of PCP and misdemeanor marijuana possession, and avoided prison time.
Marion Christopher Barry was originally sentenced to six months in jail for the 2011 felony, but D.C. Superior Court Judge Robert E. Morin suspended the sentence and ordered Barry to drug and grief counseling.
Barry's mother, Effie, died in 2007 of acute myeloid leukemia and the judge believed that her son's drug use was used to "self-medicate for the grief." Morin said, "You have a significant substance abuse issue that has gone untreated since your mother's death."
Barry's grandmother Polly Harris, Effi Barry's mother, said her grandson started using "heavy drugs" after his mother's death.
"He hasn't been doing good at all," Harris said. "He misses his mother. Even when she was sick, she would take the time and talk to him until 3 or 4 in the morning. She always had time for him."
Harris blamed her grandson's drug use on Marion Barry (D-Ward 8), a former D.C. mayor.
"All of my grandson's problems are laid right at the feet of his so-called father, Marion Barry," Harris said. "He was never a father. He was never home."
Barry's father, Marion Barry, was sentenced to six months in prison for his own drug arrest in 1990.
When the elder Barry was still mayor of
The encounter took place over an hour and was video and audio taped.
Barry was charged with three felony counts of perjury, 10 counts of drug possession, and one misdemeanor count of conspiracy to possess cocaine, even though the cocaine belonged to the government informant.
After his arrest and through his trial, Barry continued as mayor but decided in June 1990 not to seek re-election as mayor.
Barry was released from prison in 1992, and two months later filed papers to run for the Ward 8 city council seat in that year's election. Barry ran under the slogan "He May Not Be Perfect, But He's Perfect for D.C."
After his first term in the City Council after winning 70 percent of the vote, Barry ran for and won his fourth term as
Barry decided against running for a fifth mayoral term and instead returned to the City Council where he has remained since 2002.
In July of this year, Marion Barry and Tommy Wells, City Council Member from Ward-6 introduced a bill to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
Under the provisions of the bill, the penalty for the possession of less than one ounce of marijuana will be dropped to a civil penalty punishable by a $100 fine; it is currently a misdemeanor offense that can be met with six months in prison and a $1,000 fine. The bill would also mandate that minors caught with less than an ounce of marijuana attend a drug awareness program.
Even if his father's bill were to pass, Marion Christopher Barry would not benefit, since his possession charge is in the state of
Unlike other states,
Since this is not Barry's first time being charged with marijuana possession, he will face the possibilities of harsher penalties. He can be sentenced this time, up to one year in jail and a fine of $2,500.
No member of the Barry family has made a statement of the latest drug arrest.
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