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Chairman Phil Mendelson Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie 2
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A PROPOSED RESOLUTION 5
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 8
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To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to allow the Alcoholic 11
Beverage and Cannabis Board to issue temporary non-resident registration identification 12
cards that are valid for periods between 3 days and no longer than one year in length, 13
allow licensed testing laboratories to receive and test samples of medical cannabis 14
products from qualifying patients, allow licensed testing laboratories to conduct quality 15
assurance or research and development testing for cultivation centers and manufacturers, 16
amend the definition of a social equity applicant to include arrests and convictions of 17
qualifying family members for a cannabis or drug offense, expand the list of eligible 18
family members under the social equity applicant definition to include siblings and 19
grandparents, clarify that existing licensed cultivation centers and retailers, and applicants 20
that scored 150 points or more during the open application period that occurred between 21
November 29, 2021 and March 28, 2022 that are authorized by statute to receive a 22
cultivation center, manufacturer, or retailer license apart from a designated open 23
application period are not counted in calculating the 50% set aside requirement, clarify 24
that the five cultivation center registration applicants that scored 150 points or more 25
during the same open application period shall automatically receive a manufacturer 26
license provided they pay the annual fee and register with the ABC Board, allow the 27
Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board to issue conditional licenses to testing 28
laboratory applicants, and to waive the application fee for testing laboratory licenses. 29
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RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 32
resolution may be cited as the “Medical Cannabis Clarification and Non-Resident Patient Access 33
Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2023”. 34
Sec. 2. (a) First, there exists an immediate need to expand non-resident patient access at 35
licensed retailers by making temporary non-resident patient registrations valid for periods other 36
than 30 days. 37 2
(b) Non-resident access to medical cannabis is critical for visiting patients. 38
Between October 20, 2022 and June 29, 2023, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis 39
Administration (ABCA) has issued approximately 13,489 temporary non-resident patient 40
registrations. Non-resident temporary registrations have been issued to patients from all 50 states 41
and approximately 33 countries. However, currently temporary non-resident patient registrations 42
can only be issued for a 30-day period. This has resulted in requests from some visiting patients 43
and stakeholders to be able to purchase a less expensive 3-day non-resident patient registration as 44
they are only visiting the District for the weekend. Other non-resident patients and stakeholders 45
have asked to be able to purchase a temporary non-resident patient registration that is valid for 46
longer than a 30-day period as they are visiting the District for longer than 30 days. Allowing 47
ABCA to issue temporary non-resident patient cards that are between 3 days and one year in 48
length addresses both needs. 49
(c) Second, there exists an immediate need to expand the definition of a social equity 50
applicant to: (1) include arrests and convictions of qualifying family members for a cannabis or 51
drug-related offense, and (2) add siblings and grandparents to the list of eligible family members. 52
(d) The first open application period implementing the Medical Cannabis Amendment 53
Act of 2022, which took effect on March 22, 2023, ends on June 30, 2023 and is limited to social 54
equity applicants. As of June 27, 2023, ABCA has received 11 complete medical cannabis 55
facility applications from social equity applicants for either a cultivation center, manufacturer, or 56
courier license. All 11 complete social equity applications filed with ABCA by June 27, 2023 57
are from returning citizens. None of the 11 social equity applications are from an eligible family 58
member applicant with a qualifying family member who was incarcerated for a cannabis or drug-59
related offense. 60 3
(e) While the current social equity definition includes a returning citizen applicant’s 61
arrest, conviction, or incarceration for a cannabis or drug related offense, an eligible family 62
member is only permitted to apply if the qualifying returning citizen was incarcerated for a 63
cannabis or drug related offense. This inconsistency is addressed by including arrests and 64
convictions of qualifying family members for a cannabis or drug offense. The list of eligible 65
family members has also been expanded to add siblings and grandparents as their arrest, 66
conviction, or incarceration for a cannabis or drug related offense can have a significant financial 67
and emotional impact on other immediate family members. 68
(f) Third, the open application period for cultivation center, manufacturer, and courier 69
licenses for non-social equity applicants begins on August 29, 2023. The Medical Cannabis 70
Amendment Act of 2022 requires, with minor exceptions, that at least 50% of all cultivation 71
center, manufacturer, and courier licenses be set aside for social equity applicants. There exists 72
an immediate need to clarify that the number of cultivation center, manufacturer, and courier 73
licenses available to non-social equity applicants beginning on August 29, 2023 is based upon 74
the number of ABC Board approved social equity applicants for the open application period 75
ending June 30, 2023, and does not take into account cultivation center, manufacturer, and 76
retailer applicants that are statutorily permitted to be filed with ABCA apart from a designated 77
open application period. 78
(g) Fourth, there is an immediate need to clarify that the five cultivation center 79
registration applicants that scored 150 points or more as a result of the ABC Board open 80
application period that occurred between November 29, 2021 and March 28, 2022 are 81
automatically eligible to receive a manufacturer license provided they pay the annual fee and 82
register with the ABC Board. This will help to shorten the timeline necessary for these five 83 4
cultivation centers to increase the production of and the availability of medical cannabis products 84
in the District. 85
(h) Four of the five cultivation center registration applicants that scored 150 points or 86
more as a result of the open application period have been designated by the Department of Small 87
and Local Business Development as a Medical Cannabis Certified Business Enterprise with an 88
equity impact enterprise certification subcategory. 89
(i) And fifth, in a medical cannabis marketplace, products are tested for moisture content, 90
cannabinoid potency, microbial contamination, pesticides, and other items to ensure that the 91
product is safe and the patient can make an informed purchase. Despite years of effort to attract 92
testing laboratory licensees, we currently do not have any testing laboratories operating in the 93
District to test medical cannabis products from cultivation centers or manufacturers. To 94
incentivize applications for testing laboratories, there exists an immediate need to waive the 95
application fee, to allow ABCA to issue conditional licenses to successful testing laboratory 96
applicants, to allow a licensed testing laboratory to test samples of medical cannabis products 97
from qualifying patients and to allow cultivation centers and manufacturers to submit product 98
samples to a testing laboratory for purposes of quality assurance or research and development. 99
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances 100
enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances, making it necessary that the 101
Medical Cannabis Clarification and Non-Resident Patient Access Emergency Amendment Act of 102
2023 be adopted after a single reading. 103
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 104