{"id":5294,"date":"2022-04-06T19:17:57","date_gmt":"2022-04-06T19:17:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/wp-home\/?p=200970"},"modified":"2022-04-06T19:17:57","modified_gmt":"2022-04-06T19:17:57","slug":"gifting-weed-still-allowed-in-dc-as-city-council-rejects-bid-to-crack-down-on-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=5294","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Gifting\u2019 weed still allowed in DC as city council rejects bid to crack down on practice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <title>&#8216;Gifting&#8217; weed still allowed in DC as city council rejects bid to crack down on practice | Leafly<\/title>     <!-- This is Index Exchange, a script\/\/3rd-party integration that interjects GAM. It needs to be 'ahead' of GTM in the DOM, which comes from Cephalopod. GTM loads GAM. This script needs to setup it's interjection stuff before GAM loads. --> <!-- End Index Exchange --> <!-- Quotes = strings--><!-- No quotes = boolean-->\t   <!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v18.1 (Yoast SEO v18.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->                   <!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. --> <\/p>\n<p> <!-- BEGIN Sailthru Horizon Meta Information --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END Sailthru Horizon Meta Information -->  <!-- Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- End Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- Google Tag Manager --> <!-- End Google Tag Manager --> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat --><br \/>\n <!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <\/p>\n<div id=\"copy_clipboard_success\" class=\"fixed top-0 left-0 right-0\">\n<div class=\"bg-white p-lg container mt-xl flex justify-between elevation-low rounded\"> <span class=\"flex items-center\">     <span class=\"ml-md\">Link copied to your clipboard<\/span> <\/span> <button id=\"copy_clipboard_close_btn\">    <\/button> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <title>Leafly<\/title>     <title>Leafly \u00ae<\/title>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              <title>Loading\u2026<\/title>                     <\/p>\n<div class=\"bg-white fixed flex hidden inset-0 items-start md:h-auto md:items-center overflow-auto\" id=\"age-gate-container\">\n<div class=\"bg-white md:h-auto mx-auto p-lg text-sm w-full\" id=\"age-gate\">\n<p><label for=\"select-country\">Where are you from?<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"age-gate__info\">\n<p><button class=\"button\" data-testid=\"age-gate-no-button\" id=\"tou-cancel\">no<\/button><button class=\"button ml-md\" data-testid=\"age-gate-yes-button\" id=\"tou-continue\">yes<\/button><\/p>\n<p><label class=\"checkbox__label my-xl\"><span class=\"text-xs\" id=\"remember-user-label\">Remember me for 30 days. <br \/>I confirm that this is not a shared device.<\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<p class=\"error error--underage hidden\">Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"hidden age-gate__loading\">Redirecting you to<span class=\"redirect-domain\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xs mt-auto\">By accessing this site, you accept<br \/>\nthe <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"tou-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/terms-of-use\">Terms of Use<\/a><br \/>\nand <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"pp-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container my-xl\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col md:col-9\" id=\"article-content\">\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Breathe easy, DC cannabis consumers: The city won\u2019t be shutting down your favorite \u201cgifting\u201d dispensary.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, the DC Council narrowly rejected <a href=\"https:\/\/chairmanmendelson.com\/2022\/03\/31\/request-to-place-measure-on-the-agenda-for-april-5-2022-legislative-meeting-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">an emergency bill<\/a> that would have begun cracking down on the city\u2019s dozens of unregulated and unlicensed \u201cgifting\u201d stores in May. Customers in these dispensaries can buy random items like art, clothing, or stickers, and receive marijuana as a free gift included in their purchase.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Since DC voters legalized the possession of up to two ounces of cannabis in 2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/learn\/legalization\/washington-dc#:~:text=Possession%20of%20up%20to%20two,marijuana%2C%20but%20not%20sell%20it.'\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">via Initiative 71<\/a>\u2014as well as the ability to gift up to one ounce\u2014these shops argue they are well within their rights to conduct business.<\/p>\n<p>The emergency bill also aimed to shore up revenue for the city\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/abra.dc.gov\/page\/dispensaries\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">seven licensed medical dispensaries<\/a>, who are <a href=\"https:\/\/dcist.com\/story\/22\/04\/05\/dc-council-rejects-bill-closing-marijuana-gifting-shops\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">allegedly losing<\/a> up to half of their customer base to the \u201cgifting\u201d shops. <\/p>\n<p>To that end, the bill would have allowed any adult to \u201cself-certify\u201d as a medical patient through the end of September, effectively making marijuana available to anyone over the age of 21. Gifting shops do not require customers to have a medical card.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe legal shops have seen a substantial erosion of their business to the legal market and I want to be clear, [gifting] is not a gray market, it\u2019s an illegal market,\u201d Chairman Phil Mendelson, the bill\u2019s sponsor, <a href=\"http:\/\/dc.granicus.com\/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&amp;clip_id=7311\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said in a press briefing<\/a> after the council meeting.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-congress-won-t-allow-dc-to-legalize\">Congress won\u2019t allow DC to legalize<\/h2>\n<p>Wondering why DC doesn\u2019t just go ahead and legalize weed and put an end to all the confusion? It\u2019s simple: Congress won\u2019t allow it.<\/p>\n<p>Since 2015, Congress has included a <a href=\"https:\/\/dcist.com\/story\/22\/03\/09\/congress-budget-blocks-dc-marijuana-sales\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GOP-sponsored provision<\/a> in national spending bills that prohibits the District of Columbia from launching a legal cannabis market. <\/p>\n<p>DC Council wants cannabis to be legal and regulated. The city\u2019s mayor, Muriel Bowser, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/politics\/washington-dc-mayor-moves-to-allow-cannabis-sales\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wants it to be legal<\/a>. The city\u2019s representative in Congress, Eleanor Holmes Norton, <a href=\"https:\/\/outlawreport.com\/congresswoman-eleanor-holmes-norton-pushes-for-commercial-cannabis-in-washington-dc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wants it to be legal<\/a>. But until Congress\u2014which, to be clear, is now controlled by Democrats\u2014kills the spending bill provision, the city cannot enact the wishes of its leaders, representatives, and residents.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/lifestyle\/ways-to-support-black-cannabis-in-washington-dc\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>6 ways to support Black cannabis in Washington D.C.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-battle-over-gifting-isn-t-necessarily-finished\">The battle over gifting isn\u2019t necessarily finished<\/h2>\n<p>The anti-gifting bill failed on a vote of 8-4 in favor, as emergency measures require 9 votes to pass. Mendelson could reintroduce it as non-emergency legislation down the road.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Councilmembers took issue with the speed at which Mendelson rushed it to a vote. They also expressed concern that the city\u2019s gray area shops\u2014Mendelson estimates there are several dozen\u2014are owned by a diverse group of residents, and that shutting them down would have a disproportionate impact on communities of color.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t feel comfortable bypassing the process with emergency legislation,\u201d Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) <a href=\"http:\/\/dc.granicus.com\/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&amp;clip_id=7322\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said during the meeting<\/a>. \u201cThere will be a significant racial equity impact if this legislation passes. It is Black and brown people who will lose out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, gifting remains in the clear, and yes, that means that licensed shops will continue to bear a loss.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you want to talk about fair competition, what they are actually doing is subverting the market, destroying fair competition, and not being a contributor the way that the laws would normally require,\u201d Corey Barnette, owner of the Kinfolk Dispensary and District Growers, told <a href=\"https:\/\/dcist.com\/story\/22\/04\/05\/dc-council-rejects-bill-closing-marijuana-gifting-shops\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>DCist<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"author-box\" class=\"p-lg my-xxl bg-white rounded border border-light-grey elevation-low\">\n<div class=\"mb-lg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/gifting-weed-still-allowed-in-dc-as-city-council-rejects-bid-to-crack-down-on-practice.jpg\" alt=\"Max Savage Levenson's Bio Image\" class=\"lazyload inline-block mr-md rounded-full border border-light-grey\"> <\/p>\n<p>Max Savage Levenson<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"text-sm\">Max Savage Levenson likely has the lowest cannabis tolerance of any writer on the cannabis beat. He also writes about music for Pitchfork, Bandcamp and other bespectacled folk. He co-hosts The Hash podcast. His dream interview is Tyler the Creator.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"text-sm font-bold underline text-green\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/author\/max-savage-levenson\">View Max Savage Levenson&#8217;s articles<\/a> <\/div>\n<div class=\"leafly-sailthru-signup p-lg my-xl bg-white rounded elevation-low border border-light-grey\">\n<p class=\"text-xs pt-lg\">By submitting this form, you will be subscribed to news and promotional emails from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\">Leafly<\/a> and you agree to Leafly&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/tos\">Terms of Service<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. You can unsubscribe from Leafly email messages anytime.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat -->  <!--\nPerformance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: https:\/\/www.boldgrid.com\/w3-total-cache\/ Served from: _ @ 2022-04-06 12:19:32 by W3 Total Cache\n--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8216;Gifting&#8217; weed still allowed in DC as city council rejects bid to crack down on practice | Leafly Link copied to your clipboard Leafly Leafly \u00ae Loading\u2026 Where are you from? noyes Remember me for 30 days. I confirm that this is not a shared device. Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly. Redirecting you to By accessing this site, you accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Breathe easy, DC cannabis consumers: The city won\u2019t be shutting down your favorite \u201cgifting\u201d dispensary. On Tuesday, the DC Council narrowly rejected an emergency bill that would have begun cracking&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marijuana_information"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/gifting-weed-still-allowed-in-dc-as-city-council-rejects-bid-to-crack-down-on-practice.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5294\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}