DC Council may aid medical marijuana while endangering the pot ‘gift’ economy

The D.C. Council will be considering legislation on Nov. 2 to help providers and consumers of medical marijuana affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The legislation may also cripple the city’s gray market of retail and delivery services that provide marijuana as “gifts.”

Ahead of an open hearing on recreational marijuana on Nov. 19, Council Chairman Phil Mendelson introduced an emergency bill for the Nov. 2 session. That bill would enable city agencies and law enforcement to impose fines, revoke licenses, and shut the doors of nonauthorized businesses engaging in buying, selling, or otherwise “exchanging” marijuana to its customers.

The bill is also expected to aid customers of medical marijuana and legal dispensaries that provide it.

When COVID-19 hit, many medical marijuana customers were unable to renew their registration with D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) due to limited government services. As a result, Mendelson claims, over half of the District’s medical marijuana participants saw their registrations expire.

Mendelson’s bill said D.C. should “allow qualifying patients and caregivers whose registration cards expired or will expire between March 1, 2020 to Jan. 31, 2022 to continue purchasing, possessing and administering cannabis until Jan. 31, 2022.” [Read more at WTOP]