Like many SFS graduates, Caroline Crandall (SFS ’15) worked in consulting—until last year, when she moved into a new market: medical marijuana.
Crandall co-owns Green Theory, a newly licensed medical marijuana retailer in the Palisades neighborhood of D.C., with her husband. He initially operated two unlicensed cannabis businesses, including a delivery service.
“It’s more expensive to run a medical cannabis dispensary, there’s more regulations and rules you have to follow, which, ultimately, is good, and we believe in that,” Crandall said. “That’s why we wanted to do it.”
Recreational weed isn’t legal in D.C. because Congress oversees the city budget and weed remains illegal at the federal level. However, for the past decade, cannabis sales in D.C. have operated under a quasi-legal “gray market” created by the passage of Initiative 71 (I-71) in 2014.
I-71 legalized the possession and consumption of up to two ounces of cannabis, as well as the “transfer” of up to one ounce as long as the recipient is 21 years or older and no money is exchanged for the cannabis. Its passage led to the opening of dozens of “gift shops” that “gift” customers cannabis in exchange for the purchase of items like stickers, postcards, and t-shirts.
D.C. government cracks down
Now, the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA) and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) are cracking down on I-71 shops. This comes as residents, government officials, and even legal medical dispensary owners have grown fed up with the unlicensed stores, which are untaxed and not subject to safety regulations.
Right now, adults looking to buy cannabis legally can self-register as card-carrying patients and shop at one of the ten legal medical dispensaries currently in operation around D.C. However, the Voice has identified at least 195 additional currently operating I-71 cannabis stores, 20 of which are located within one mile of Georgetown University.
Since July, five of these unlicensed shops have been padlocked, with the promise of more shutdowns on the way.
After years of complaints from medical dispensaries and D.C. residents, the D.C. Council passed emergency legislation to give ABCA more power to close the unlicensed shops.
The Medical Cannabis Conditional License and Unlicensed Establishment Closure Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2024 took effect on July 15. The bill gives ABCA the authority to close and padlock unlicensed operators that “pose an imminent danger to public health and safety,” including businesses that do not comply with cease and desist orders.
Since early July, ABCA has issued 26 cease and desist orders to I-71 shops, demanding they immediately stop selling, exchanging, or delivering cannabis. ABCA has also sent 84 warning letters to similar businesses, informing them they must stop gifting or selling cannabis products. Of the 24 stores identified by the Voice as recipients of cease and desist orders, five have been shut down by ABCA, five are at least temporarily closed, and 14 are still operating, according to their websites and social media pages.
The first store to be padlocked, U Street’s Supreme Terpene, was shut down after failing to comply with a cease and desist order by continuing to sell THC and psilocybin products. After its closure, MPD seized 39 pounds of psychedelic mushrooms, 22 pounds of marijuana flower, and 33 pounds of products containing THC.
ABCA alleges that cannabis products purchased from Supreme Terpene tested positive for amphetamines.
Amphetamines—stimulants included in ADHD medications like Adderall, as well as Schedule I drugs like meth and MDMA—can be dangerous because contaminated products may elicit a reaction that users do not expect.
The agency also stated in a September press release that “investigators recovered 1,458 grams of Marijuana laced with suspected Amphetamines” from The Green Room, another I-71 shop on U Street.
Owners of The Green Room vehemently denied these claims on their website and Instagram.
“NO, there are NO truths to the statements,” they wrote. “We have never had any customers falling ill or complaints about our product. After being in compliance for over 5 years. We’ve taken great measurements in providing a safe experience for nonmedical card holders.”
Growing community concerns
Yet there is real concern among community members about the unregulated supply of cannabis being sold at unlicensed stores.
Joe Massaua (SFS ’25), a commissioner in Georgetown’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC), has heard these fears from community members. He worries about the potential impact of unregulated products being sold to students.
“I would be worried if a Georgetown student was ingesting an unlicensed product and got sick and died. What are the testing standards for this? And this THC is not like your parents’ THC— it’s like, 70% to 90% [concentration], it’s so potent and so strong,” Massaua said.
According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, the average THC content of cannabis seized in 1995 was 4%. In 2017 it was 17%, although products with concentrations up to 90% are available.
The Voice found no evidence of such cases at Georgetown, but tainted synthetic marijuana has been tied to illnesses and deaths in other places across the country. While that is extremely rare, one investigation found that more than half of marijuana in some states is contaminated with pesticides or heavy metals.
Shutting down I-71 stores would expand regulation and prevent toxic products from entering the market, according to proponents like Crandall. Many medical dispensary owners have complained that unlicensed stores are endangering their businesses, too.
Since I-71 shops are not legally permitted to sell marijuana, they are not taxed the same as medical dispensaries, where residents pay an additional 6% cannabis tax. As Crandall noted, medical dispensaries have higher operating costs and have to pay taxes.
Because of this discrepancy, the medical marijuana industry in D.C. has claimed that it is being hurt by I-71 shops.
“If [enforcement] doesn’t continue to happen in a methodical way, where they continue to shut down stores regularly, then yes, you will see stores and cultivators close and leave the market,” Crandall said.
Crandall’s husband, who started their business as an unlicensed I-71 operator, applied for a medical retail license in November 2023. After months of back-and-forth with ABCA and the ANC, they have officially transitioned into the medical market.
“I know that the shift from I-71 to medical will be a bit of a rude awakening for a lot of people, because now that you have to be 100%, fully compliant, you are reporting all of your income to the government,” Crandall said.
Cannabis businesses seek medical licenses
More businesses may soon be following in Green Theory’s footsteps. ABCA and the D.C. Council have created an on-ramp for unlicensed businesses to become licensed medical retailers.
Even those who did not previously run unlicensed shops are joining the business, now that there are more regulations in place. The owner of Herbal Harvest, a cannabis delivery service operating out of Georgetown, spoke to the Voice on the condition that he be referred to by his nickname, Zaad.
“We were interested in opening our doors when the industry was regulated in D.C. and D.C. was ready to issue licenses. We wanted to have a business that is licensed by the government, and we didn’t want to operate in the gray zone because of the uncertainties and all other issues that come with it,” Zaad said.
Cannabis is a booming industry—after being legalized by Maryland last year, the state reported more than $1.1 billion in sales. With 72% of D.C. residents supporting legalization, many are left to wonder why D.C. still does not have a legal recreational market. Like many issues, the answer lies in the District’s lack of statehood.
Because D.C. is not a state, Congress authorizes its spending. The “Harris Rider,” named after its leading proponent, Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), restricts the city from using any funds to set up a legal recreational cannabis market because the drug is still illegal at the federal level.
He first blocked D.C.’s attempts in 2014. At the time, he issued a press release explaining his decision.
“Congress has the authority to stop irresponsible actions by local officials,” Rep. Harris wrote. “When I became a physician, I took an oath to do no harm, and decriminalizing marijuana will harm D.C. residents, especially youth.”
Many in the District disagree.
“I absolutely think that we should go the way of Maryland and legalize it recreationally 100%,” Crandall said. “The issue, obviously, is the Harris Rider that’s preventing us as a non-state from having those same rights to make that decision for ourselves.”
Despite the lack of a legal recreational market, patients in D.C. have been able to “self-certify” for medical cannabis cards since 2022. Anyone who is 21 years or older, has a valid government ID, and has $10 can apply and receive a medical card in less than 10 minutes. This process can be done the same day from anywhere, including inside a medical cannabis shop.
This process, Crandall said, has been a helpful way for D.C.’s legal market to operate as nearly recreational.
“ABCA has done a phenomenal job of getting the medical market as close to recreational as humanly possible, with things like self-attestation and not needing a doctor’s note to sign people up,” Crandall said. “We sign people up in our store every single day for med cards. It takes five minutes.”
She sees the success of the medical cannabis industry as a launching pad for a future recreational market.
“I think the way to get there is to show ABCA, the government, the D.C. Council, Congress, that the medical market is flourishing, and we can do this legally, and we won’t skirt the rules, and we will respect paying taxes,” Crandall said. “The success of the medical market will be directly correlated with the likelihood of us moving to recreational.”
An underfunded, understaffed ABCA
Continuing to shut down I-71 shops and moving toward regulation and licensing would help prove the efficacy of D.C.’s regulatory system, Crandall said.
But according to Massaua, a lack of funding and resources has frustrated progress.
“Frankly, I am disappointed by the way that ABCA has been funded,” Massua said. “We’re a year in, we’re still seeing kinks and gray zones and loopholes, and we should have worked out the kinks by now, or the Bowser administration should have provided the funding.”
Jackie Puente is a board member of 1000 Feet, an advocacy group originally formed by parents concerned about the addition of Green Theory to their neighborhood. ABCA’s current regulations state that dispensaries and cultivation centers must be at least 300 feet from a school, day care, or recreation center; Puente’s group wants to extend that to 1,000 feet. She, like Massaua, finds ABCA’s enforcement lacking.
“I think the ABCA needs to evaluate this much more seriously,” Puente said. “In many cases, cracking down on illegal stores and expecting to get kudos from the community is ridiculous. They should have been cracking down on illegal, not-tax-paying, not-regulated stores from the beginning.”
“I think it’s just pathetic,” she added.
Axios D.C. recently found that ABCA only has one cannabis inspector for the entire District. Each medical dispensary must be inspected at least monthly, and additional inspections are required for unlicensed stores and stores in the process of obtaining licenses. With over 200 stores in the District, that’s a hefty task for just one person.
In a statement, ABCA claimed that its efforts are not impeded by having one inspector, and they are in the process of hiring additional staff.
“We are utilizing all available resources to conduct compliance efforts, including expanding ABCA’s cannabis enforcement team and investing in new tools that will aid its investigations,” the agency wrote to the Voice.
Stakeholders, like Crandall and Zaad, hope this increased enforcement is just the beginning of efforts to bring unlicensed cannabis retailers into the legal, regulated market for the sake of business and health.
“If consumers are going to get their medical cannabis, it’s better to get it from sources that are trusted and licensed and controlled by the government, than to have it go like the model we had before decriminalization or legalization,” Zaad said. “That certainly didn’t work.”
View a map of D.C. cannabis retailers and their respective legal statuses here.
