Rider blocking D.C. from regulating cannabis sales remains in 2022 federal budget

Last update: March 16, 2022

Due to the fact that D.C. cannot control its own budget, Congress has been able to block the District from taxing and regulating cannabis sales via the "Harris rider," which is attached to federal funding legislation. Unfortunately, the rider was once again included in the 2022 federal budget.

The D.C. Council signaled they were preparing to establish a regulated adult-use cannabis market once Congress allows it. A public hearing was held on November 19, 2021 for D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson’s “The Comprehensive Legalization and Regulation Act of 2021,” a bill to regulate and tax cannabis sales in the District. The hearing was the D.C. Council’s first official hearing on a bill to legalize adult-use cannabis sales. You can check out our summary of the bill here.

MPP Legislative Analyst Olivia Naugle testifying at the November 2021 D.C. Council hearing. 

In November 2014, D.C. voters overwhelmingly approved Initiative 71, which legalized the possession and cultivation of limited amounts of marijuana by adults 21 and older. However, as long as congressional interference continues, adult-use consumers are left with no access to regulated, tested cannabis.

If you live in D.C., urge your councilmembers to support taxing and regulating marijuana sales for adults 21 and older.

Mayor Bowser signs bill to expand medical cannabis access

On Friday, February 11, 2022, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed the "Medical Marijuana Patient Access Extension Emergency Amendment Act of 2022" into law! The emergency legislation increases access to the District’s medical cannabis program.

The legislation will:

• Allow senior citizens over age 65 to self-certify their own eligibility for medical cannabis without having to get a recommendation from a doctor until September 30, 2022. The self-certification form is available online here. 
• Allow patients whose registrations expired on or after March 1, 2020 to purchase medical cannabis until September 30, 2022.
• Create a “4/20 Medical Cannabis Sales Tax Holiday Week.” From April 15 through April 24, 2022, patients will not have to pay the six percent sales tax on medical cannabis.

More information on D.C.’s medical cannabis program can be found here, and you can find a list of licensed dispensaries in D.C. here.

D.C. now accepts medical cannabis cards from most medical cannabis jurisdictions

Non-resident patients must present their digital or physical government-issued medical cannabis registration. You can find a full list of U.S. jurisdictions that reciprocity has been extended to here. 

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