Today, DC Councilmember Charles Allen joined Mayor Muriel Bowser and Fred Moosally, Director of the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, on H Street NE to mark the 100th closure of an illegally operating shop selling cannabis products, shutting down (for the second time at this location) You Gro Girl.

These illegal shops proliferated in DC for many years until Councilmember Allen wrote emergency and permanent legislation exactly two years ago, granting ABCA the authority to close them if they did not otherwise take steps to operate lawfully and come into compliance with DC’s Medical Cannabis Program.

“These shops aren’t ‘businesses’ in any sense of the word. They’re largely cash operations selling totally untested cannabis grown outside the District, sometimes laced with other deadly drugs, and it’s not uncommon to also find weapons on the premises. They operate without any permits, following none of the laws or regulations that every legitimate business around them has to follow,” said Councilmember Allen. “Director Moosally and his team at ABCA have done a phenomenal job closing these shops and, when necessary, going after landlords who signed a lease with them. In doing so, they’re protecting consumers who want to safely consume tested and trusted cannabis, creating business opportunities for DC residents trying to enter the market, reducing the overconcentration of these shops along our important commercial corridors, and resetting the playing field for every legitimate business in the District trying to play by the rules.”

Councilmember Allen’s Medical Cannabis Program Enforcement Emergency Amendment Act of 2024 was passed on an emergency basis in January 2024 and permanently in October 2024. Using the authority granted in the law, ABCA has now shuttered 100 illegal shops, including 16 in Ward 6.

Background on the Law:

• Empowers the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (“ABCA”) to issue warnings, fines, and cease and desist orders to unlicensed businesses that have not applied to become licensed under the District’s Medical Cannabis Program;
• Mirrors several provisions from the District’s Alcohol Code enforcement scheme and applies them to the enforcement of medical cannabis;
• Gives ABCA and MPD authority to inspect an establishment’s books and records;
  Authorizes the seizure of cannabis manufactured, sold, or exchanged in violation of the Medical Cannabis Program;
• Requires the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), Office of Tax and Revenue, and the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department to notify ABCA if a licensed establishment violates one of the listed agencies’ rules within 30 calendar days;
• Prohibits unlicensed establishments from displaying signs or imagery advertising cannabis or cannabis products, or advertising themselves as “I-71 compliant”;
• Allows affected ANCs in neighborhoods where unlicensed establishments are applying to become medical establishments to provide input, similar to the ANC input process when considering liquor licenses; and
• Transfers authority to issue fines to commercial property owners for unlicensed establishments operating on their properties from DLCP to ABCA.
  
  “One of Congress’ longest running intrusions into local DC affairs has been the congressional rider effectively banning a safe, regulated recreational market for cannabis. This came after voters overwhelmingly passed it as a ballot initiative and has remained, even as many other states have set up their own recreational markets – ironically including the state of Maryland, where the rider’s chief champion, Rep. Any Harris, resides. That rider created this dangerous, illegal situation where shops popped up seemingly on every corner,” Councilmember Allen said. “In doing so, these shops likely propped up high commercial rents that burdened other local businesses while selling a dubious or even dangerous product to customers. It had to change, and I’m grateful Director Moosally and his team have been so diligent in using the authority from my law here.”