DC lawmakers once again take aim at illegal weed businesses
WASHINGTON - Lawmakers in Washington, D.C. are cracking down on illegal weed businesses that have been operating unlicensed for years.
On Wednesday, two more shops were shut down as part of new enforcement: All American Papers on 504 H Street NE) and Stonerz DC on 521 H Street NE.
"This is a serious problem. We have public safety problems that often go along with these businesses. they are operating illegally so you have to have standard enforcement and go after them," said Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen.
Allen introduced and led D.C. Council to pass the Medical Cannabis Program Enforcement Emergency Amendment Act of 2024 in January of this year to grant ABCA the legal authority to enforce against illegally operating businesses.
"We want to create a legal, well-regulated marketplace. Congress prevents us from doing that so we have a lot of workarounds," Allen explained.
Essentially, the law gives the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and ABCA — the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration — more power to shut down unlicensed illegal weed shops that lawmakers say are interfering with D.C.'s legal medicinal marijuana businesses.
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The businesses are first given warnings, then cease and desist letters and if they continue to operate illegally, they will get padlocked.
The process from violation to closure can take months, and businesses are given a pathway to become licensed and operate legally.
The first illegal cannabis business shut down, on September 5th, was Supreme Terpene on U Street. Police seized a large amount of illegal pot, edibles, THC products and psychedelic mushrooms.
The second closure was the Green Cloud Shop on 7th and Kennedy St. in Northwest D.C. on September 13th, which officials said had received warnings starting in March. The store owner, 49-year-old Abdelhak Hamsasse, was arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute and operating a business after the certificate of authority had been revoked.
To date, ABCA has issued 23 cease and desist orders and 79 written warning letters to illegal weed stores.
Retailers will also not be able to operate legal cannabis stores close to a daycare if the daycare decides to object.
RELATED: Marijuana gifting businesses could be shut down in DC
If you aren't familiar, the unregulated so-called I-71 shops typically work this way: you buy an item, then they gift you marijuana, as a sort of loophole and this has been going on for years.
Allen said that the point, the D.C. Council wants to get across is that there is a legal cannabis marketplace in the district that is safe for people.
"If you're looking to consume cannabis, you can have confidence in what you're purchasing at a licensed retailer. You can't do that at an illegal shop. We're seeing these illegal shops that have fentanyl-laced in marijuana they're selling, amphetamines, other drugs," Allen added. "It's dangerous stuff. They're undercutting the legal businesses but they're also putting our residents and consumers at risk and that's another reason enforcement has got to happen."
Below is a statement from Ward 3 Councilmember Matthew Frumin:
"In recent years, unregulated and unsafe "gifting" shops have emerged across the District, exploiting loopholes to "gift" cannabis when a consumer purchases other merchandise. The legislation we advanced on Tuesday gives ABCA more authority to shut down these gifting shops, while allowing the heavily regulated medical cannabis industry to operate. These gifting shops operating outside the regulated market can make it harder for legal medicinal cannabis shops to do business and can put our residents in danger. Last year in Ward 3, a group of elementary school students ate gummies containing THC, leading to hospital visits. It would be hard to more dramatically illustrate the need to move from an unregulated to a regulated market. We must close the gifting shops as soon as possible and allow regulated medical cannabis shops to operate with proper processes and oversight."