D.C. leaders were hands-off toward I-71 weed shops — until now
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In the decade since D.C. voted to legalize marijuana, the city remained lenient toward cannabis gifting at "I-71 compliant" shops. That is now ending.
Why it matters: D.C. lawmakers — once sympathetic toward businesses getting crafty to sell weed — are upping penalties and giving regulators more authority to snuff out the shops.
What I'm hearing: It's a sea change, with even progressive council members supporting the crackdown.
- It comes after the unlicensed shops have proliferated to an estimated 100-plus establishments, hurting the business of legal medical marijuana dispensaries.
- Lawmakers are also getting an earful from parents about weed shops opening near schools and day cares.
- On top of that, there's concern that the all-cash businesses are magnets for crime.
Driving the news: Council members approved a cannabis package on Tuesday, ending a loophole to prevent dispensaries from opening within 400 feet of schools or recreation centers.
- D.C. shuttered an unlicensed weed shop for the first time this month, and it padlocked a second one last week, arresting the shop's 49-year-old owner.
- More could be coming: The Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration has issued 23 cease and desist orders as of Sept. 12, a step removed from a closure notice.
Zoom out: New York City is the poster child. There, Mayor Eric Adams has led a crusade, padlocking over 750 unlicensed weed shops and destroying tons of seized cannabis (by lighting it — in an incinerator).
What they're saying: Given the number of I-71 shops that exist, "there needs to be a padlock every hour," Council member Charles Allen said in a pre-vote breakfast meeting. "The focus needs to be on enforcement."
Context: For years, D.C.'s "gifting economy" (you buy a bottle of fruit juice, you get a side "gift" of marijuana) circumvented a ban Congress placed on the city from legalizing recreational pot sales.
- Aside from the occasional police raid, many I-71 shops operated without much scrutiny.
But the city ended its laissez-faire approach by creating an on-ramp period for the I-71 shop operators to apply to become legal medical dispensaries.
- Many have applied. But few have been approved. And there's a worry among some industry operators that ending the gifting shops will drive illicit marijuana sales back to the underground economy because not everyone will pay higher prices at a medical dispensary.
- There are also fears the city wouldn't have enough local cultivation to meet consumer demand if all the I-71 shops suddenly became licensed medical dispensaries, which are required to source marijuana grown in D.C.
What's ahead: Council members will consider next month enacting stricter rules on marijuana packaging so that it doesn't resemble a candy or food product.
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