D.C. Mayor Signs Bill to Make Marijuana Easier to Buy and Sell

???Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser last week signed into law a bill that expands the availability of medical marijuana to local residents.

???It doubles the number of dispensaries and makes licenses to sell cannabis products more accessible.

???Cannabis possession is medically and recreationally legalized in the District of Columbia but recreational sales remain illegal. Only licensed vendors can sell it.

???"Fundamentally, this legislation is about making it easier for medical cannabis entities to do business by relaxing restrictions thought necessary and desirable over a decade ago," according to a 223-page December D.C. Council committee report on the legislation.

???The law allows two marijuana dispensary licenses per ward – up from one now – for a total of 16. In addition, medical cannabis can be delivered to homes by licensed couriers.

???Although other states also are loosening restrictions on marijuana, the District of Columbia’s law is different from many others for its “social equity” provisions.

???Social equity in the law is intended to eliminate injustices created by criminalization of marijuana.

???One provision restricts criminal conviction records for determining eligibility for licenses to grow, make or dispense cannabis products. Instead, it uses an "individualized approach" that balances factors like evidence of rehabilitation, employment history and whether the previous offense might be relevant for a license.

???Other social equity provisions give preference to low and middle-income applicants for the licenses.

???Another even more liberal marijuana law is pending before the D.C. Council. Called the Comprehensive Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Act of 2023, it would legalize and regulate the sale of recreational cannabis.

???It also would authorize reparations between $5,000 and $80,000 to people arrested, convicted or imprisoned for cannabis-related offenses before possession and personal use were legalized in 2015.

???For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: [email protected] or phone: 202-479-7240.