WASHINGTON — The Washington, D.C. District Council, in a decisive move, approved a measure on Tuesday to impose new penalties on unlicensed cannabis gifting shops. This bill, potentially effective this week, aims to regulate these businesses, which have largely operated outside the city’s medical marijuana program.
Initiative 71, passed in 2014, legalized recreational cannabis in the U.S. capital, allowing possession, use, cultivation, and the gifting of small quantities. However, efforts to legalize and regulate adult-use cannabis dispensaries have been stymied by Congress, which holds the power to alter or annul district council decisions.
This legislative void has led to the proliferation of cannabis gifting shops in D.C., where customers typically purchase items like stickers at high prices and receive cannabis as a “gift.” In response, the district council expanded the city’s medical marijuana program in 2022, removing dispensary limits and inviting gifting shops to apply for medical marijuana business licenses.
Despite this effort to legitimize unlicensed vendors and control the unregulated cannabis market, confusion over enforcement authority has left the 2022 law largely unenforced.
In a bid to address this issue, Councilmember Charles Allen introduced emergency legislation, empowering the city’s Alcohol Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA) to regulate these businesses. This bill authorizes the ABCA to issue warnings, fines, and cease-and-desist orders to unlicensed shops.
The ABCA has been accepting applications from unlicensed businesses since November. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie reported that 37 such shops have applied. However, the proposal to levy hefty fines on unlicensed cannabis businesses is contentious, with concerns about the impact on local businesses, predominantly owned by Black and Brown entrepreneurs.
Allen stressed the necessity of this measure at Tuesday’s council meeting, as reported by The DCist. The legislation also enables the ABCA to penalize commercial property owners renting to unlicensed cannabis shops and involves the city’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions in the licensing process.
This move parallels the regulation of bars, restaurants, and liquor stores, which are also subject to scrutiny by advisory groups. The new bill, awaiting Mayor Muriel Bowser’s signature, marks a significant shift in the District’s approach to managing its burgeoning unregulated cannabis sector, balancing the need for regulation with the complexities of a market shaped by federal constraints.
