DC emergency vote on cannabis gift services scheduled for tomorrow

Cannabis gift shops and delivery services in Washington, DC are today preparing for an emergency vote by the DC City Council scheduled for tomorrow, April 5, 2022 that could push them back underground.

Initiative 71 legalized recreational cannabis in DC in 2014 with 64.87% of voters approving the measure. However, DC’s lack of statehood means that the city budget must be approved by Congress – and immediately after the initiative passed, Maryland Republican Assemblyman Andy Harris introduced an amendment to the bill known as the Harris Rider to Congress has effectively prevented the city government from legalizing adult commercial sales.

DC residents are currently allowed to possess up to two ounces of cannabis, grow up to six plants, and gift up to one ounce to other adults, but commercial sales remain prohibited due to the Harris Rider. In recent years, this has given rise to a “gift economy,” a creative workaround whereby customers buy an item such as a t-shirt, digital artwork, gym membership, or other product in exchange for a cannabis gift.

This has created some tension between medicinal cannabis dispensary owners and the people running gift services. It has also drawn the ire of DC City Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, who has tried several times to crack down on I-71 gift shops.

Last year, Mendelson introduced an emergency law to empower city officials to “revoke licenses, seal off premises, and impose fines on businesses that buy, sell, or trade marijuana.” Language in the bill that would have strengthened enforcement of gift deals, including a fine of up to $30,000, was removed a day before the vote.

Now, Mendelson has reignited the fight, calling for an emergency vote for tomorrow that would allow the city to close gift shops beginning in mid-May, while eliminating the need for a doctor’s recommendation for anyone sourcing medical cannabis from DC dispensaries through self-certifying theirs medicinal use. The move has been supported by many medicinal cannabis dispensary owners who are complaining that they are losing business to gift shops operating in a gray area of ​​the law because of the Harris Rider.

A resolution from Mendelson’s office, reported by DCist.com, states that “several dozen illegal cannabis companies are currently operating in the district. These companies… do not pay the fees and taxes that licensed facilities pay, putting licensed cannabis companies at a competitive disadvantage.”

Under I-71, DC residents can grow up to six plants for personal use and gifts — but home growers accused of running an illegal service could be fined $30,000 and suspended from their home for 96 hours residency are excluded.

DC residents can contact council members to let them know they don’t want their taxes used to close cannabis gift shops. The vote is scheduled for tomorrow’s legislative session.

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