District Of Columbia 2025-2026 Regular Session

District Of Columbia Council Bill PR26-0109 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	ENROLLED ORIGINAL
2	1
3	2
4	3
5		-	1
	4	+	Muriel Bowser
	5	+	Mayor
	6	+	Enclosure
6	7
7		-	A RESOLUTION
8		-
9		-	26-56
10		-
11		-	IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
12		-
13		-	March 4, 2025
14		-
15		-	To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend, on an emergency
16		-	basis, the Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1999 to clarify
17		-	the definition of an unlicensed establishment, to ensure that all unlicensed establishments
18		-	are subject to enforcement action beginning on April 1, 2025, to indicate that the current
19		-	statutory compliance exemption does not apply to unlicensed establishments that sell
20		-	Schedule I substances or products that contain Schedule I substances, and to clarify when
21		-	the ABC Board can issue a notice of summary closure to a licensed medical cannabis
22		-	establishment.
23		-
24		-	RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
25		-	resolution may be cited as the “Unlicensed Establishment Enforcement Clarification Emergency
26		-	Declaration Resolution of 2025”.
27		-
28		-	Sec. 2. As of February 19, 2025, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration
29		-	(“ABCA”) and the Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”) have summarily closed and
30		-	padlocked 31 unlicensed cannabis establishments . At a recent Council joint committee public
31		-	roundtable held on February 11, 2025, regarding the state of the medical cannabis industry, it
32		-	was established that additional enforcement measures are needed to further assist with the
33		-	closure of unlicensed establishments operating in the District.
34		-	(b) The emergency legislation seeks to level the playing field bet ween licensed and
35		-	unlicensed cannabis businesses by clarifying that all unlicensed cannabis businesses that applied
36		-	during the statutory open application period that still remain unlicensed and operating illegally
37		-	are subject to enforcement and summary closure beginning on April 1, 2025. The emergency
38		-	legislation also clarifies that unlicensed establishments that applied during the statutory open
39		-	application period are subject to enforcement and summary closure prior to April 1, 2025, if they
40		-	engage in the sale of Schedule I substances and products containing Schedule I substances such
41		-	as psychedelic mushrooms and Dimethyltryptamine.
42		-	(c) The emergency legislation also promotes public health and safety by allowing the
43		-	Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board (“Board”) to summarily close and padlock, through
44		-	ABCA and MPD, unlicensed businesses that stop selling cannabis and cannabis products but
45		-	continue to illegally sell Schedule I substances and products containing Schedule I substances. ENROLLED ORIGINAL
	8	+	MURIEL BOWSER
	9	+	MAYOR
46	10
47	11
48	12
	13	+	February 28, 2025
	14	+
	15	+	The Honorable Phil Mendelson
	16	+	Chair
	17	+	Council of the District of Columbia
	18	+	1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 506
	19	+	Washington, D.C. 20004
	20	+	Dear Chairman Mendelson:
	21	+
	22	+	Enclosed for consideration and enactment by the Council of the District of Columbia is the
	23	+	“Unlicensed Establishment Enforcement Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2025,”
	24	+	along with accompanying an accompanying emergency declaration resolution, and the
	25	+	“Unlicensed Establishment Enforcement Clarification Temporary Amendment Act of 2025.”
	26	+
	27	+	To date, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA), along with the
	28	+	Metropolitan Police Department, have been able to take action to close down thirty- one
	29	+	unlicensed cannabis establishments operating in the District illegally. Despite this progress,
	30	+	additional enforcement authority will better equip ABCA to move forward with the closure of the
	31	+	remaining operating unlicensed establishments. These emergency measures would therefore
	32	+	expand ABCA’s authority to take summary action and padlock businesses engaged in illegal
	33	+	commerce in cannabis and Schedule I substances by expanding the agency’s padlocking authority
	34	+	to medical cannabis businesses and non- licensed businesses engaged in the illegal sale of
	35	+	cannabis or Schedule I substances and ending the grace period that prevented enforcement against
	36	+	certain unlicensed businesses that applied for a license with ABCA but have not obtained a
	37	+	license by April 1, 2025.
	38	+
	39	+	For these reasons discussed above, I urge the Council to take prompt and favorable action on the
	40	+	enclosed proposed bill .
	41	+
	42	+
	43	+	Sincerely, 1
49	44		2
50		-
51		-	(d) The emergency legislation also promotes public health and safety by allowing the
52		-	Board to summarily close a licensed establishment that engages in illegal activity that presents an
53		-	imminent danger to the health and safety of the public after being licensed by the Board.
54		-
55		-	Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances
56		-	enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances, making it necessary that the
57		-	Unlicensed Establishment Enforcement Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2025 be
58		-	adopted after a single reading.
59		-
60		-	Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
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	51	+	9
	52	+	10
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	55	+	13
	56	+	14
	57	+	at the request of the Mayor
	58	+	A PROPOSED RESOLUTION
	59	+	IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
	60	+	15 To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend, on an
	61	+	16 emergency basis, the Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative
	62	+	17 of 1999 to clarify the definition of an unlicensed establishment, to ensure that all
	63	+	18 unlicensed establishments are subject to enforcement action beginning on April 1,
	64	+	19 2025, to indicate that the current statutory compliance exemption does not apply
	65	+	20 to unlicensed establishments that sell Schedule I substances or products that
	66	+	21 contain Schedule I substances, to clarify that the ABC Board can issue a notice of
	67	+	22 summary closure to a property owner when the unlicensed establishment
	68	+	23 presenting the imminent danger to the health or safety of the public has vacated
	69	+	24 the premises, and to clarify when the ABC Board can issue a notice
	70	+	of summary
	71	+	25 closure to a licensed medical cannabis establishment.
	72	+	26
	73	+	27 RESOLVED
	74	+	BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That
	75	+	28 this resolution may be cited as the "Unlicensed Establishment Enforcement Clarification
	76	+	29 Emergency Declaration Resolution
	77	+	of 2025".
	78	+	30 Sec. 2. As
	79	+	of February 19, 2025, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis
	80	+	31 Administration (ABCA) and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) have summarily
	81	+	32 closed and padlocked thirty-one unlicensed cannabis establishments. At a recent Council
	82	+	33 joint committee public roundtable held on February 11, 2025 regarding the state of the
	83	+	34 medical cannabis industry, it was established that additional enforcement measures are
	84	+	35 needed to further assist with the closure of unlicensed establishments operating in the
	85	+	36 District.
	86	+	1 2
	87	+	(b) The emergency legislation seeks to level the playing field bet ween licensed 1
	88	+	and unlicensed cannabis businesses by clarifying that all unlicensed cannabis businesses 2
	89	+	that applied during the statutory open application period that still remain unlicensed and 3
	90	+	operating illegally are subject to enforcement and summary closure beginning on April 1, 4
	91	+	2025. The emergency legislation also clarifies that unlicensed establishments that 5
	92	+	applied during the statutory open application period are subject to enforcement and 6
	93	+	summary closure prior to April 1, 2025 if they engage in the sale of Schedule I 7
	94	+	substances and products containing Schedule I substances such as psychedelic 8
	95	+	mushrooms and Dimethyltryptamine. 9
	96	+	(c) The emergency legislation also promotes public health and safety by allowing 10
	97	+	the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board (Board) to summarily close and padlock, 11
	98	+	through ABCA and MPD, unlicensed businesses that stop selling cannabis and cannabis 12
	99	+	products but continue to illegally sell Schedule I substances and products containing 13
	100	+	Schedule I substances. 14
	101	+	(d) The emergency legislation also promotes public health and safety by allowing 15
	102	+	the Board to issue a notice of summary closure to the property owner in the event that the 16
	103	+	unlicensed establishment presenting the imminent danger to the health or safety of the 17
	104	+	public has vacated the premises. 18
	105	+	(e) The emergency legislation also promotes public health and safety by allowing 19
	106	+	the Board to summarily close a licensed establishment that engages in illegal activity that 20
	107	+	presents an imminent danger to the health and safety of the public after being li censed by 21
	108	+	the Board. 22 3
	109	+	Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances 1
	110	+	enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances, making it necessary that the 2
	111	+	Unlicensed Establishment Enforcement Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 3
	112	+	2025 be adopted after a single reading. 4
	113	+	Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 5