Although Washington D.C. may lack a proper adult-use retail cannabis market, residents consume more pot than most other parts of the country. A recent study by the law firm Siegfried & Jensen made this determination.
According to the firm’s research, about 33 per cent of adults in the city use the plant for medical or recreational purposes. Siegfried & Jensen examined data compiled by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration between 2021-2022 for its numbers.
Possessing up to 57 grams of marijuana and cultivating up to six personal plants has been legal for those without a prescription in the District of Columbia since 2014. The district’s name was inspired by Christopher Columbus. In 1790, George Washington chose to establish the nation’s capital in this area.
The state of Vermont, where 34.3 per cent are consumers, is the only part of the United States where getting ripped is more popular among those over the age of 21. Vermont has had a recreational sector since 2018.
Oregon, Alaska and the state of Washington trailed behind Washington D.C. during the years from which the data was derived.
Table: Siegfried & Jensen
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Capital pot shops operating in legal grey area take legal action
Because there is no regulated recreational market in the district, several shops have found a loophole to get cannabis into the hands of customers. This method is known as “gifting.”
When possession of adult-use pot was legalized in D.C. 10 years ago, authorities permitted businesses to gift up to one ounce of weed to customers when they bought other goods.
However, many stores in the city have taken advantage of this loophole and used it to indirectly sell cannabis by charging customers a certain amount for other items like T-shirts or stickers.
A recent crackdown on shops selling large quantities of marijuana through gifting inspired an alliance of aspiring recreational stores to take authorities to court. This crackdown has been ongoing for about nine months now. A total of 13 storefronts have been fined, shut down and padlocked so far.
The group of seven companies taking legal action, known as the Alliance of Recreational Cannabis Entities LLC, allege that their activities are lawful and that they are being unfairly victimized for gifting substantial amounts of cannabis.
They want to stop the government from issuing fines, conducting raids and shutting down more stores while pressuring regulators to permit a proper recreational retail market.
District of Columbia defendants mentioned in the suit include Mayor Muriel Browser, Attorney General Brian Schwalb and Police Chief Pamela Smith.
rowan@mugglehead.com
