"We are very disappointed that Congress continues to prevent residents of D.C. from regulating cannabis despite their urgent and repeated requests for reform. Instead, Congress is forcing the District to maintain a gray market in which cannabis can be legally possessed and consumed by adults, but it cannot be legally sold, regulated, or tested. This places consumers at risk, and entrepreneurs who live in this minority-majority community are denied the ability to open businesses that are available in every other legal cannabis jurisdiction," said Toi Hutchinson, MPP's President and CEO.
Mayor Muriel Bowser has signed the "Medical Marijuana Patient Access Extension Emergency Amendment Act of 2022" into law! The emergency legislation lowers barriers to the District’s medical cannabis program.
"It is long overdue that D.C. residents have access to safe, regulated cannabis. This legislation will boost public health and public safety in D.C.and begin to repair the past harms cannabis prohibition has caused by reinvesting in those communities and providing opportunity in the legal cannabis industry," said Olivia Naugle, MPP's legislative analyst.
Earlier this year, D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson introduced “The Comprehensive Legalization and Regulation Act of 2021," a bill to regulate and tax cannabis sales in the District. A public hearing, which will be conducted via Zoom, has been scheduled for this Friday, November 19 at 9:00 a.m.
"I'm quite disappointed that we've really seen no movement whatsoever at the federal level. I think that if Amazon were able to lend its political support to federal reform and fund state-level efforts, that would be a net positive for the cannabis reform movement in this country," said Matthew Schweich, MPP's deputy director.
"They were going too far in their desire to not have a gifting economy … saying adults couldn’t share their cannabis with friends. We advocated for including sensible language that defines what sharing is and isn’t," said Matt Simon, MPP's senior legislative analyst.
Medical cannabis delivery and curbside pickup will be available to registered D.C. patients!
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, these measures went into effect today and will expire either August 12 or 45 days after D.C.’s public health emergency order…