The Washington D.C. Council has given approval to an ordinance that would make several changes to the district’s medical marijuana law.
Bill 25-0368, the Medical Cannabis Clarification and Non-Resident Patient Access Temporary Amendment Act of 2023, has been passed by the council and sent to Mayor Muriel Bowser for consideration. The mayor has until October 11 to sign the ordinance into law, veto it, or allow it to become law without a signature. The proposal was filed in July by Councilmembers Phil Mendelson and Kenyan McDuffie.
The ordinance would allow those who live outside of Washington D.C. to obtain a temporary, one-year medical marijuana authorization. This would give them the same legal protections as medical marijuana patients who live in D.C., and it would allow them to purchase marijuana at licensed dispensaries.
Under current D.C. law non-residents can obtain a temporary medical marijuana card that lasts just 30 days.
The measure would also allow patients to submit marijuana and marijuana products to testing labs in order to obtain information such as the THC and CBD content and what pesticides if any were used.
Another change that would be instituted under Bill 25-0368 is an expansion of the district’s social equity marijuana license, allowing it to also apply to someone whose legal guardian, grandparent or sibling has been a victim of the drug war.
Earlier this year Mayor Bowser signed into law an ordinance that removed the cap on the number of plants that a cultivation center can grow and removed the cap on the number of permitted dispensaries in the District. The law also created new business categories within the industry including on-site consumption facilities and marijuana cooking classes, and it made permanent the option for patients to self-certify that they’re qualified medical marijuana patients.
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