The recently passed bill, called the Medical Cannabis Amendment Act of 2022 (B24-0113), was sponsored by Chairman Phil Mendelson of the Washington, D.C. Council in February 2021. The Washington, D.C. Council voted unanimously to pass on Dec. 20, 2022, followed by Bowser signing the bill on Jan. 30, just two days before a response was due on Feb. 1.

The bill expands the capital’s medical cannabis program in many ways, including lifting the cap on dispensaries, creating new license types, and codifies emergency measures passed in 2021 and 2022.

Originally the amendment proposed implementing an increased cap on dispensaries, but was later revised to include no maximum number (although the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board is given the power to establish a cap one year from the passage of the bill in January 2024).

It also authorizes the creation of more cannabis license types, including cannabis delivery services, online sales, educational programs, and areas dedicated to cannabis consumption. “At least half” of all licenses given to currently unlicensed businesses will be given to social equity applicants (defined as those who are D.C. residents with low income, have spent time in prison for cannabis-related charges, or are related to someone who was affected by the War on Drugs).

Medical cannabis was legalized in Washington D.C. in 2010, and an attempt to legalize adult-use cannabis was passed by voters in 2014 through Initiative 71. While it allows possess of up to two ounces of cannabis and home cultivation, it also allows adults to gift up to one ounce of weed to another adult, which created the loophole of gifting (or a way to get around cannabis sale restrictions by selling merch or apparel with a gift of cannabis for free). The Medical Cannabis Amendment Act of 2022 seeks to target those unlicensed businesses, giving them a path to obtain a legal license.

The act also codifies emergency measures that were implemented for cannabis. This includes the emergency measure that provides support for Washington, D.C. patients with expired cards and help struggling dispensaries as well, which was passed in November 2021. In July 2022, Bowser signed a bill allowing adults to self-certify themselves as medical cannabis patients.

Overall, enforcement action related to these changes won’t be implemented until 315 days have passed since the signing of the bill, which would be later this year in December. It also needs congressional review before officially taking effect.

Also recently in Washington, D.C., Mendelson the Second Chance Amendment Act of 2021 (B24-0063) is under congressional review. This would implement automatic expungement through “automatic sealing for non-dangerous, non-convictions as well as shorten the waiting periods before a person is eligible to seal their record. It would also expand the eligibility of who can seal their record.” All expungements would need to be processed before Jan. 1, 2025. If congress doesn’t make a move against the bill, its projected law date is set for March 16, 2023.

Mendelson also recently introduced another bill (B25-0052) on Jan. 19, which aims to legalize adult-use cannabis sales. The proposal includes a “Reparations for Victims of the War on Cannabis Fund,” which would offer anywhere between $5,000 to $80,000 to pay those who were negatively affected by cannabis criminalization. It also includes a “Cannabis Equity and Opportunity Fund,” which would gather up 40% of revenue to go toward loans or grants for applicants affected by criminalization. Additionally, the bill details a plan to reinvest cannabis tax revenue into community services such as mental health treatments and youth development.

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New York’s illicit marijuana stores are booming, but a new study finds they’re selling weak bud that threatens public health and undermines the actual legal market.

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Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Wednesday signed a bill into law that will ease access for medical cannabis patients in the nation’s capital.

Known as the Medical Marijuana Self-Certification Emergency Amendment Act of 2022, the measure will allow patients who are in the medical cannabis program to “self-certify” their qualifying condition for the treatment.

That means, effective immediately, those patients will no longer need to receive a recommendation from a doctor in order to receive a medical cannabis card.

Bowser hailed the new ordinance as a victory both for patients and medical cannabis providers.

“We have made it a priority over the years to build a more patient-centric medical marijuana program and this legislation builds on those efforts,” Bowser said in a statement on Wednesday. “We know that by bringing more medical marijuana patients into the legal marketplace in a timely manner and doing more to level the playing field for licensed medical marijuana providers, we can protect residents, support local businesses, and provide clarity to the community.”

“I applaud the Council for moving forward this innovative solution to a complex issue, and I look forward to working with the Council and ABRA on permanent, more comprehensive medical marijuana legislation in the future,” she continued.

The ordinance was passed late last month by the Washington, D.C. City Council.

Supporters of the measure said it was essential for medical cannabis dispensaries in Washington, D.C. that have taken a hit to their bottom line due to the prevalence of illicit pot retailers in the city.

“Due to the lower barriers to access in the gray market, a significant number of medical marijuana patients have shifted from purchasing their medical marijuana from legal medical dispensaries to the illicit gray market, creating a significant risk to the long-term viability of the District’s legal medical marijuana industry,” Councilmembers Kenyan McDuffie and Mary Cheh, the two sponsors of the ordinance, said in a statement last month. “If this trend continues, it is possible that gray market sales could wipe out the District’s legal marijuana dispensaries.”

Many of those unregulated cannabis retailers in Washington, D.C. employ the practice of “gifting,” by which a customer pays for a product such as a t-shirt and in turn receives a “gift” of cannabis.

In April, the D.C. City Council voted down a proposal that would have imposed hefty fines on those illicit pot stores.

Under the proposal, those unregulated shops would have been hit with fines up to $30,000. It also would have permitted adults aged 21 and older in D.C. to obtain medical cannabis without a doctor’s visit.

Looming over this dilemma is a Congress-imposed ban on recreational sales in Washington, D.C.

Voters in the district approved an initiative in 2014 that legalized recreational cannabis, but Congress, which oversees D.C. laws, has included a provision in every appropriations bill since then that prohibits the commercialization of recreational pot in the city.

It was a blow to cannabis advocates in the nation’s capital, and to Bowser, who expressed hope last fall when Senate Democrats unveiled a spending bill that did not include the provision.

“The Senate appropriations bill is a critical step in recognizing that in a democracy, D.C. residents should be governed by D.C. values,” Bower’s office said in a statement at the time. “As we continue on the path to D.C. statehood, I want to thank Senate Appropriations Committee Chair, Senator Patrick Leahy, our good friend and Subcommittee Chair, Senator Chris Van Hollen, and, of course, our champion on the Hill, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, for recognizing and advancing the will of D.C. voters. We urge Congress to pass a final spending bill that similarly removes all anti-Home Rule riders, allowing D.C. to spend our local funds as we see fit.”

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With NY’s recreational sales months away, Mayor Adams gives the OK for grey area gifting shops, trucks, and speakeasies to keep the green flowing.

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Officials in New York and Washington DC have also threatened action against cannabis gift shops

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Simplify the season of giving for every smoker on your list with quality whole flower. Good Supply and Broken Coast have got the goods.

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