Mayor Muriel Bowser has signed the "Medical Marijuana Patient Access Extension Emergency Amendment Act of 2022" into law! The emergency legislation lowers barriers to the District’s medical cannabis program.

Here are the provisions included:

• Until September 30, 2022, senior citizens over age 65 will be able to self-certify their own eligibility for medical cannabis without having to get a recommendation from a doctor. The self-certification form is available online here.
• Allows patients whose registrations expired on or after March 1, 2020 to continue to purchase medical cannabis until September 30, 2022.
• Creates a “4/20 Medical Cannabis Sales Tax Holiday Week.” From April 15 through April 24, 2022, patients will not have to pay the six percent sales tax on medical cannabis.

In response to the legislation becoming law, the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) announced that it would be hosting a “Senior Week” from February 22-25 to help assist seniors in the self-certification process.

What: “Senior Week.” Walk-in applicants with completed applications will receive a digital and physical registration during their visit. Assistance completing applications will also be provided as needed.

When: From today, Tuesday, February 22 through Friday, February 25 between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Where: ABRA’s office is located at 2000 14^th Street NW, Suite 400 South, Washington, D.C. 20009.

More information on D.C.’s medical cannabis program can be found here, and you can find a list of licensed dispensaries in D.C. here.

Help spread the word on these improvements and opportunities by forwarding this message to your friends and family in the District!

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Email your D.C. lawmakers today and ask them to support The Comprehensive Legalization and Regulation Act of 2021!

Earlier this year, D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson introduced “The Comprehensive Legalization and Regulation Act of 2021," a bill to regulate and tax cannabis sales in the District.

A public hearing, which will be conducted via Zoom, has been scheduled for this Friday, November 19 at 9:00 a.m. Friday’s hearing will be the D.C. Council’s first official hearing on a bill to legalize adult-use cannabis sales.

If you are interested  in providing testimony on Friday, please sign up here. Testimony is limited to three minutes, and you must register to testify by the close of business on Wednesday, November 17. You may also submit written testimony for the record to cow@dccouncil.us. The record will close on Friday, December 3, 2021.

If you live in D.C, urge your councilmembers to support taxing and regulating cannabis sales for adults 21 and older in the District.

The Comprehensive Legalization and Regulation Act of 2021 would establish a regulatory scheme for the licensing, production, and retail sale of adult-use cannabis in the District, allow for automatic expungement of D.C. Code cannabis-related arrests and convictions, and establish a social equity program to provide opportunities in the legal industry for communities disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition. You can check out our summary of the bill here.

In other news, please consider signing and sharing this petition to have the Council remove the $100 fee that the regulating agency (ABRA) charges to process cards for medical cannabis patients. This is a huge barrier to patients obtaining the medicine they need.

Washingtonians deserve access to safe, regulated cannabis. Don’t miss the opportunity to have your voice heard at Friday’s historic hearing. Please share this message with your friends and family in the District!

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