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___________________________ ______________________________ 2
Chairman Phil Mendelson Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie 3
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A BILL 8
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 13
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To amend, the Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1999 to create 18
definitions for the terms non-District resident and another jurisdiction’s medical cannabis 19
program, to allow the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board (“ABC Board”) to issue 20
temporary non-resident registration identification cards that are valid for periods between 21
3 days and no longer than one year in length, allow licensed testing laboratories to 22
receive and test samples of medical cannabis products from qualifying patients, allow 23
licensed testing laboratories to conduct quality assurance or research and development 24
testing for cultivation centers and manufacturers, amend the definition of a qualifying 25
patient, amend the definition of a social equity applicant to include arrests and 26
convictions of qualifying family members for a cannabis or drug offense; expand the list 27
of eligible family members under the social equity applicant definition to include siblings 28
and grandparents, to provide a deadline date by which existing cultivation centers and 29
dispensaries must file their applications with ABCA for additional medical cannabis 30
facility licenses, to not allow a cultivation center to also hold an internet retailer license, 31
to provide the Board with the authority to issue patient and caregiver registration cards at 32
no cost, clarify that existing licensed cultivation centers and retailers and applicants that 33
scored 150 points or more during the open application period that occurred between 34
November 29, 2021 and March 28, 2022, that are authorized by statute to receive a 35
cultivation center, manufacturer, or retailer license apart from a designated open 36
application period are not counted in calculating the 50% set aside requirement, to 37
provide that the 2 cultivation center registration applicants that tied for second and 38
received the same total score after submitting a medical cannabis facility registration 39
application to the ABC Board between November 29, 2021 and March 28, 2022, be 40
awarded a cultivation center registration, to provide that other cultivation center and 41
dispensary registration applicants that scored 150 points or more after submitting a 42
medical cannabis facility registration application to the ABC Board during the same open 43
application period shall be considered for a cultivation center or retailer registration, to 44
allow a cultivation center and a dispensary registration applicant that scored 150 points or 45
more to change the location of its facility without otherwise affecting the status of its 46 2
application, clarify that the 5 cultivation center registration applicants that scored 150 47
points or more during the same open application period shall automatically receive a 48
manufacturer license provided they pay the annual fee and register with the ABC Board, 49
allow ABCA to issue conditional licenses to testing laboratory applicants, to waive the 50
application fee for testing laboratory licenses, to create a stipulated license application 51
process, and to clarify the process for unlicensed establishments being issued a medical 52
cannabis cultivation center, retailer, or internet retailer license. 53
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 55
act may be cited as the “Medical Cannabis Clarification Amendment Act of 2023”. 56
Sec. 2. The Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1999, effective 57
February 25, 2010 (D.C. Law 13-315; D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.01 et seq.), is amended as 58
follows: 59
(a) Section 2 (D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.01) is amended as follows: 60
(1) Paragraph (1E) is redesignated as (1F). 61
(2) A new paragraph (1E) is added to read as follows: 62
“(1E) “Another jurisdiction” means any state, commonwealth, or territory of the 63
United States.”. 64
(3) Paragraph (13B) is amended by striking the phrase “resident who” and inserting 65
the phrase “resident who is a person who resides or is domiciled in another state, territory, 66
foreign country, or foreign territory and who” in its place. 67
(4) Paragraph (13B)(B) is amended by striking the phrase “30-day registration 68
identification card” and inserting the phrase "registration identification card valid for periods 69
established by the ABC Board by rulemaking, which are between 3 days and no longer than one 70
year in length” in its place. 71
(5) Paragraph (19) is amended as follows: 72 3
(A) Strike the phrase “dental treatment, or” and insert the phrase “dental 73
treatment, a patient who is a non-resident cardholder, or” in its place. 74
(B) Strike the phrase “provided, that a patient” and insert the phrase 75
“provided, that a patient who is a non-resident cardholder or a patient” in its place. 76
(6) Paragraph (20C)(B) is amended by striking the phrase “or has a non-parent legal 77
guardian who is or has been incarcerated” and inserting the phrase “or has a non-parent legal 78
guardian, or a grandparent or a sibling who is or has been arrested, convicted, or incarcerated”. 79
(b) Section 6(b) (D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.05(b)) is amended as follows: 80
(1) Paragraph (4) is amended as follows: 81
(A) Subparagraph (A) is amended by striking the phrase “30 days” and inserting 82
the phrase "periods established by the ABC Board by rulemaking, which are between 3 days and 83
no longer than one year in length.”. 84
(B) Subparagraph (B) is amended by striking the phrase "30-day”. 85
(2) Paragraph (5)(C) is amended by striking the phrase "3 years.” and inserting the 86
phrase “3 years, except for temporary non-resident registration identification cards that are valid 87
for periods established by the ABC Board by rulemaking, which shall be between 3 days and no 88
longer than one year in length.” in its place. 89
(3) A new paragraph (11A) is added to read as follows: 90
“(11A) Allow testing laboratories to: 91
“(A) Receive and test samples of medical cannabis products from 92
qualifying patients; provided, that the qualifying patient must present proof that he or she is 93
currently registered, and that the medical cannabis product was purchased from a retailer or 94
internet retailer licensed with ABCA. 95 4
“(B) Receive and test samples of medical cannabis products from licensed 96
cultivation centers or manufacturers for purposes of quality assurance or research and 97
development. Samples collected for quality assurance or research and development testing may 98
be selected by the cultivation center or manufacturer non-randomly. Any tests conducted for 99
purposes of quality assurance or research and development shall not satisfy the requirements of 100
paragraphs (8) through (11) of this subsection.”. 101
(4) Paragraph 15 is amended by striking the phrase “Establish sliding-scale 102
registration and annual renewal fees for all persons and entities required to register or obtain a 103
license pursuant to this act; provided” and inserting the phrase “Establish registration, sliding-104
scale registration, and annual renewal fees for all persons and entities required to register or 105
obtain a license pursuant to this act and permit the ABC Board, by rule, to make qualifying 106
patient and caregiver registrations available at no cost; provided” in its place. 107
(c) Section 7 (D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.06) is amended as follows: 108
(1) Subsection (d) is amended as follows: 109
(A) Paragraph (2) is amended by striking the phrase “retailer or online retailer 110
license” and inserting the phrase “retailer license” in its place. 111
(B) A new paragraph (5) is added to read as follows: 112
“(5) Applications for additional licenses pursuant to paragraphs (1) through (3) of 113
this subsection shall be filed with ABCA by the existing cultivation center or dispensary by May 114
1, 2024.”. 115
(2) Subsection (e)(1) is amended as follows: 116
(A) Subparagraph (F) is amended by striking the phrase “retailer or internet 117
retailer license” and inserting the phrase “retailer license” in its place. 118 5
(B) A new subparagraph (G) is added to read as follows: 119
“(G) No licensee holding a cultivation center license shall hold an internet 120
retailer license.”. 121
(3) Subsection (h) is amended by striking the phrase "cultivation centers who 122
receive a manufacturer’s license pursuant to subsection (d) of this section.” and inserting the 123
phrase "cultivation centers and retailers, and applicants who scored 150 points or more during 124
the ABC Board open application period that occurred between November 29, 2021 and March 125
28, 2022, who receive a cultivation center, manufacturer, or retailer’s license pursuant to 126
subsections (d), (w), (x) and (y) of this section.”. 127
(4) Subsection (k)(1) is amended to read as follows: 128
“(k)(1) The ABC Board shall be authorized to issue a one-year conditional license for a 129
cultivation center, retailer, internet retailer, manufacturer, courier, or testing laboratory that does 130
not currently have a proposed location.”. 131
(5) Subsection (n)(2) is amended to read as follows: 132
“(2)(A) The ABC Board shall, by rules issued pursuant to section 14, establish the 133
initial application and renewal fees for cultivation center, manufacturer, retailer, internet retailer, 134
and courier licenses. The ABC Board may revise these fees as considered necessary. 135
“(B) There shall be no initial application fee for a testing laboratory 136
license. Renewal fees for a testing laboratory license shall be established by rules issued pursuant 137
to sub-paragraph (A) of this paragraph.”. 138
(6) New subsections (w), (x), (y) and (z) are added to read as follows: 139
“(w)(1) The 2 cultivation center registration applicants that submitted a medical 140
cannabis facility registration application to the ABC Board between November 29, 2021, and 141 6
March 28, 2022, that tied for second, and received the same total score shall be awarded a 142
cultivation center registration. 143
“(2) A cultivation center registration applicant not referenced in paragraph (1) of 144
this subsection that scored 150 points or more during the same open application period shall be 145
considered for a cultivation center registration after May 1, 2023; provided, that the applicant 146
files a corrected application, including an application to change the facility location, with the 147
ABC Board by May 1, 2024. An applicant that scored 150 points or higher shall be allowed to 148
change the location of the cultivation center facility on its application by May 1, 2024, without 149
negatively affecting the status of the application. 150
“(3) An applicant that filed more than one cultivation center registration 151
application during the open application period with one or more of the same owners shall be 152
considered for only one cultivation center registration under this subsection. 153
“(4) An initial application fee paid by a cultivation center registration applicant 154
that scored 150 points or higher shall be credited by ABCA toward the entire cost of the 155
applicant’s cultivation center application fee. 156
“(x)(1) A dispensary registration applicant that submitted a medical cannabis 157
facility registration to the ABC Board between November 29, 2021, and March 28, 2022, and 158
received 150 points or more shall be considered for a retailer registration no earlier than 180 159
calendar days after March 22, 2023. An applicant shall be allowed to change the location of the 160
retailer facility on its application by May 1, 2024, without negatively affecting the status of the 161
application. 162 7
“(2) An applicant that filed more than one dispensary registration application 163
during the open application period with one or more of the same owners shall be considered for 164
only one retailer registration under this subsection. 165
“(3) An initial application fee paid by a dispensary registration applicant that 166
scored 150 points or higher shall be credited by ABCA toward the entire cost of the applicant’s 167
retailer application fee. 168
“(y) The 5 cultivation center registration applicants that submitted medical 169
cannabis facility registration applications to the ABC Board between November 29, 2021 and 170
March 28, 2022, that scored 150 points or more shall automatically receive a manufacturer 171
license provided the annual fee is paid; provided, that the applicant registers on a form provided 172
by ABCA with the ABC Board by May 1, 2024. 173
“(z)(1) An applicant who has submitted a complete license application for a 174
cultivation center, manufacturer, retailer, or internet retailer, to transfer its license to a new 175
location, or for a retailer endorsement may obtain a stipulated license to begin operations 176
authorized by the applied-for license under the following conditions: 177
(a) The applicant has submitted a stipulated license application on a form 178
provided by the ABC Board; 179
(b) The applicant has submitted written correspondence from an ANC Officer 180
where the applicant’s premises is located stating that the ANC has voted with 181
a quorum present to either support or not object to the issuance of a stipulated 182
license to the applicant pending completion of the 45-day protest period; and 183
(c) The applicant submits to ABCA the stipulated license application fee. 184
“(2) A cultivation center, manufacturer, retailer, or internet retailer applicant shall 185 8
stop selling, delivering or serving medical cannabis under the stipulated license if a valid protest 186
is filed by an affected Advisory Neighborhood Commission during the 45 calendar day protest 187
period or the application is withdrawn or denied. 188
“(3) An applicant operating under a stipulated license shall operate in accordance 189
with the laws and regulations applicable to the requested cultivation center, manufacturer, 190
retailer, or internet retailer license.”. 191
(d) Section 7b (D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.06b) is amended as follows: 192
(1) Subsection (b)(1) is amended by striking the word “immediately” and inserting 193
the phrase “once its license is issued by ABCA”. 194
(2) Subsection (b)(2) is redesignated as subsection (b)(3). 195
(3) A new subsection (b)(2) is added to read as follows: 196
“(b)(2)(A) An unlicensed establishment that is approved for a cultivation center, 197
retailer, or internet retailer license shall obtain issuance of its license by the later date of either 198
September 30, 2024 or within 180 days of Board approval, or have its Board approval rescinded. 199
“(B) An unlicensed establishment that temporarily discontinues operations after 200
Board approval that is not involved in unlicensed activity may request that the Board extend the 201
deadline in paragraph (A) by one additional 180 day period to allow the applicant to take 202
deliberate steps to resume business operations at the applicant’s proposed location. The Board 203
shall approve the applicant’s extension request provided the applicant can demonstrate to the 204
Board that the applicant is making reasonable progress to resume business operations at the 205
proposed location.”. 206 9
“(C) Notwithstanding paragraph A of this subsection, a cultivation center, retailer, 207
or internet retailer applicant shall cease any unlicensed activity once its license is issued by 208
ABCA. 209
Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 210
The Council adopts the fiscal impact in the committee report as the fiscal impact 211
statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved 212
October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 213
Sec. 4. Effective date. 214
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 215
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as 216
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 217
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 218
Columbia Register. 219