ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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A BILL 1
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25-368 3
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 5
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To amend, on a temporary basis, the Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative 10
of 1999 to allow the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board (“ABC Board”) to issue 11
temporary non-resident registration identification cards that are valid for periods between 12
3 days and no longer than one year in length, allow licensed testing laboratories to 13
receive and test samples of medical cannabis products from qualifying patients, allow 14
licensed testing laboratories to conduct quality assurance or research and development 15
testing for cultivation centers and manufacturers, amend the definition of a social equity 16
applicant to include arrests and convictions of qualifying family members for a cannabis 17
or drug offense, expand the list of eligible family members under the social equity 18
applicant definition to include siblings and grandparents, clarify that existing licensed 19
cultivation centers and retailers and applicants that scored 150 points or more during the 20
open application period that occurred between November 29, 2021 and March 28, 2022, 21
that are authorized by statute to receive a cultivation center, manufacturer, or retailer 22
license apart from a designated open application period are not counted in calculating the 23
50% set aside requirement, clarify that the 5 cultivation center registration applicants that 24
scored 150 points or more during the same open application period shall automatically 25
receive a manufacturer license provided that they pay the annual fee and register with the 26
ABC Board, allow the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board to issue conditional 27
licenses to testing laboratory applicants, and to waive the application fee for testing 28
laboratory licenses. 29
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 31
act may be cited as the “Medical Cannabis Clarification and Non-Resident Patient Access 32
Temporary Amendment Act of 2023”. 33 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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Sec. 2. The Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1999, effective 34
February 25, 2010 (D.C. Law 13-315; D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.01 et seq.), is amended as 35
follows: 36
(a) Section 2 (D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.01) is amended as follows: 37
(1) Paragraph (13B)(B) is amended by striking the phrase “30-day registration 38
identification card” and inserting the phrase "registration identification card valid for periods 39
established by the ABC Board by rulemaking, which are between 3 days and no longer than one 40
year in length” in its place. 41
(2) Paragraph (20C)(B) is amended by striking the phrase “or has a non-parent legal 42
guardian who is or has been incarcerated” and inserting the phrase “or has a non-parent legal 43
guardian, or a grandparent or a sibling who is or has been arrested, convicted, or incarcerated”. 44
(b) Section 6(b) (D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.05(b)) is amended as follows: 45
(1) Paragraph (4) is amended as follows: 46
(A) Subparagraph (A) is amended by striking the phrase “30 days” and 47
inserting the phrase "periods established by the ABC Board by rulemaking, which are between 3 48
days and no longer than one year in length”. 49
(B) Subparagraph (B) is amended by striking the phrase "30-day”. 50
(2) Paragraph (5)(C) is amended by striking the phrase "3 years.” and inserting the 51
phrase “3 years, except for temporary non-resident registration identification cards that are valid 52 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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for periods established by the ABC Board by rulemaking, which shall be between 3 days and no 53
longer than one year in length.” in its place. 54
(3) A new paragraph (11A) is added to read as follows: 55
“(11A) Allow testing laboratories to: 56
“(A) Receive and test samples of medical cannabis products from 57
qualifying patients; provided, that the qualifying patient must present proof that he or she is 58
currently registered, and that the medical cannabis product was purchased from a retailer or 59
internet retailer licensed with ABCA. 60
“(B) Receive and test samples of medical cannabis products from licensed 61
cultivation centers or manufacturers for purposes of quality assurance or research and 62
development. Samples collected for quality assurance or research and development testing may 63
be selected by the cultivation center or manufacturer non-randomly. Any tests conducted for 64
purposes of quality assurance or research and development shall not satisfy the requirements of 65
paragraphs (8) through (11) of this subsection.”. 66
(c) Section 7 (D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.06) is amended as follows: 67
(1) Subsection (h) is amended by striking the phrase "cultivation centers who 68
receive a manufacturer’s license pursuant to subsection (d) of this section.” and inserting the 69
phrase "cultivation centers and retailers, and applicants who scored 150 points or more during 70
the ABC Board open application period that occurred between November 29, 2021 and March 71 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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28, 2022, who receive a cultivation center, manufacturer, or retailer’s license pursuant to 72
subsections (d), (w), (x) and (y) of this section.”. 73
(2) Subsection (k)(1) is amended to read as follows: 74
“(k)(1) The ABC Board shall be authorized to issue a one-year conditional license for a 75
cultivation center, retailer, internet retailer, manufacturer, courier, or testing laboratory that does 76
not currently have a proposed location.”. 77
(3) Subsection (n)(2) is amended to read as follows: 78
“(2)(A) The ABC Board shall, by rules issued pursuant to section 14, establish the 79
initial application and renewal fees for cultivation center, manufacturer, retailer, internet retailer, 80
and courier licenses. The ABC Board may revise these fees as considered necessary. 81
“(B) There shall be no initial application fee for a testing laboratory 82
license. Renewal fees for a testing laboratory license shall be established by rules issued pursuant 83
to sub-paragraph (A) of this paragraph.”. 84
(3) A new subsection (y) is added to read as follows: 85
“(y) The 5 cultivation center registration applicants that submitted medical 86
cannabis facility registration applications to the ABC Board between November 29, 2021 and 87
March 28, 2022, that scored 150 points or more shall automatically receive a manufacturer 88
license provided that the annual fee is paid after the effective date of the Medical Cannabis 89
Manufacturer Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2023, effective June 29, 2023 (D.C. 90 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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Act 25-152; 70 DCR ___); provided, that the applicant registers on a form provided by ABCA 91
with the ABC Board by May 1, 2024.”. 92
Sec. 3. Repealer. 93
The Medical Cannabis Manufacturer Clarification Temporary Amendment Act of 2023, 94
passed on 2nd reading on June 20, 2023 (Enrolled version of Bill 25-304), is repealed. 95
Sec. 4. Fiscal impact statement. 96
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement of the Budget Director as the fiscal impact 97
statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved 98
October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 99
Sec. 5. Effective date. 100
(a) This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by 101
the Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of Congressional review 102
as provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 103
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 104
Columbia Register. 105
(b) This act shall expire after 225 days of its having taken effect. 106