DC Council Issues Cease and Desist Orders to Unlicensed Cannabis Shops
WASHINGTON — The D.C. City Council is ramping up its efforts to shut down unlicensed cannabis stores operating in the nation’s capital and seize their illegal products.
Ahead of the July Fourth holiday weekend, the city’s Alcohol Beverage and Cannabis Administration sent cease and desist orders to four unlicensed cannabis dispensaries.
In addition, said Mary McNamara, a spokeswoman for the agency, 55 warnings have been issued to unlicensed cannabis businesses.
The steps to rein in the unlicensed stores are yet another example of how municipalities are dealing with changing attitudes and the evolving legal status of cannabis across the United States.
The District of Columbia has decriminalized possession of up to two ounces of cannabis for people over the age of 21, and allows residents to grow up to six cannabis plants, so long as no more than three reach maturity at the same time.
Despite this, possession of cannabis remains a crime under federal law, and even district law prohibits its sale for money or its exchange for “gifts.”
It is this latter practice — stores selling non-cannabis items and giving their customer a “gift” of a cannabis product — that has proven to be a persistent challenge for local authorities.
In January the city council passed legislation specifically targeting these unlicensed cannabis “gifting” stores, and since then the district’s zoning administrator has issued guidance explaining where legal medical cannabis cultivation businesses can locate within the city.
Within the cannabis retail community, both moves were seen as potential precursors to the district’s undertaking a new crackdown on illicit businesses.
Then in June, the city council passed the resolution that directly led to the issuance of the cease and desist orders.
The resolution, introduced by City Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie and voted on June 25, coincided roughly with the expiration of conditional one-year licenses granted to cannabis business manufacturers and cultivation center applicants.
It was also effectively an emergency declaration that the city’s 25-year-old medical marijuana law was in need of some serious updating.
Among other things, it clarified the district’s Alcohol Beverage and Cannabis Administration authority to conduct unannounced inspections of unlicensed establishments. It also gives the agency the authority to padlock businesses.
In addition, it extended the conditional licenses for the manufacture or cultivation of medical marijuana for two years, so that existing establishments can relocate, if they need to, to neighborhoods covered by the May zoning guidance.
McDuffie’s resolution also extended existing public comment period provisions to all unlicensed establishment registration applications, and finally, it clarified the criteria to be considered when summarily closing an unlicensed establishment.
These include the distribution of Schedule 1 substances; a violent crime occurring on the premises; and any person affiliated with the business possessing firearms unlawfully.
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