B 26-0759

                                                                     ENROLLED ORIGINAL
                                           AN ACT
                                          _________
                   IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
                                     __________________
To amend, on an emergency basis, the Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment
      Initiative of 1999 to amend the definition of an unlicensed establishment to include
      establishments that sell Schedule I substances or products that contain Schedule I
      substances, to extend the expiration dates of conditional licenses for medical cannabis
      cultivation centers, retailers, internet retailers, manufacturers, couriers, and testing
      laboratories for an additional year, to clarify that a conditional license applicant may
      submit a zoning certificate instead of a certificate of occupancy with their permanent
      license application, to clarify the distance requirements between retailers and internet
      retailers and schools and recreation centers, to authorize enforcement actions to be taken
      against all unlicensed establishments beginning on April 1, 2025, regardless of whether
      the unlicensed establishments have an application pending before the Alcoholic Beverage
      and Cannabis Board, to authorize certain enforcement actions before April 1, 2025,
      against an unlicensed establishment that has an application before the Alcoholic
      Beverage and Cannabis Board if the unlicensed establishment sells a Schedule I
      substance or a product that contains a Schedule I substance, to authorize summary
      closures and related enforcement actions to continue for as long as the imminent danger
      to the public persists and is likely to recur, and to allow the Alcoholic Beverage and
      Cannabis Administration and Metropolitan Police Department to take related
      enforcement actions against a licensed medical cannabis establishment that engages in
      certain unlawful activity.
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
act may be cited as the “Medical Cannabis Licensing and Unlicensed Establishment Enforcement
Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2026”.
       Sec. 2. The Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1999, effective
July 27, 2010 (D.C. Law 18-210; D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.01 et seq.), is amended as follows:
       (a) Section 2 (D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.01) is amended as follows:
               (1) A new paragraph (2B) is added to read as follows:
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                                                                         ENROLLED ORIGINAL
                 “(2B) “Cannabis product” means a product derived from or composed of
cannabis, in part or in whole.”.
                 (2) A new paragraph (20B-i) is added to read as follows:
                 “(20B-i) “Schedule I substance” means a controlled substance listed in section
204 of the District of Columbia Uniform Controlled Substances Act of 1981, effective August 5,
1981 (D.C. Law 4-29; D.C. Official Code § 48-902.04), or rules implementing that section.”.
                 (3) Paragraph (22) is amended to read as follows:
                 “(22) “Unlicensed establishment” means:
                         “(A) A sole proprietorship, partnership, or other business entity that:
                                “(i) Sells, exchanges as part of a commercial transaction, or
delivers cannabis and cannabis products;
                                “(ii) Operates at or delivers from a specific location in the District;
and
                                “(iii) Is not licensed by ABCA as a cultivation center, retailer,
internet retailer, manufacturer, courier, or testing laboratory; or
                         “(B) For purposes of section 9(c-1), (g), (h), and (i), a sole proprietorship,
partnership, or other business entity that:
                                “(i) Sells, exchanges as part of a commercial transaction, or
delivers Schedule I substances or products that contain Schedule I substances; and
                                “(ii) Operates at or delivers from a specific location in the
District.”.
        (b) Section 7 (D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.06) is amended as follows:
                 (1) Subsection (k) is amended as follows:
                         (A) Paragraph (1) is amended by striking the phrase “a 2-year conditional
license” and inserting the phrase “a conditional license valid for up to 3 years” in its place.
                         (B) Paragraph (2) is amended as follows:
                                (i) The lead-in language is amended by striking the phrase “shall
have 2 years from the date of ABC Board approval” and inserting the phrase “shall have until the
end of the term of the conditional license” in its place.
                                (ii) Subparagraph (C) is amended by striking the phrase “certificate
of occupancy” and inserting the phrase “zoning certificate or certificate of occupancy” in its
place.
                         (C) Paragraph (3) is amended to read as follows:
                 “(3) The holder of a conditional license shall not engage in purchasing,
possessing, cultivating, manufacturing, or selling of medical cannabis, cannabis products, or
Schedule I substances.”.
                         (D) Paragraph (4) is amended by striking the phrase “after a period of 2
years” and inserting the phrase “before the end of the term of the conditional license” in its place.
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                                                                         ENROLLED ORIGINAL
                 (2) Subsection (k-1) is amended to read as follows:
        “(k-1) A one-year conditional license that was in effect as of December 17, 2024, and
that automatically converted to a 2-year conditional license, shall automatically convert to a 3-
year conditional license, expiring 2 years after the date the original conditional license was set to
expire, at no additional cost and without additional ABC Board approval.”.
                 (3) Subsection (l) is amended by striking the phrase “A one-year conditional
license” and inserting the phrase “A conditional license” in its place.
                 (4) Subsection (q) is amended to read as follows:
        “(q)(1)(A) A retailer or internet retailer shall not locate within any residential district or
within 400 feet of a preschool, primary or secondary school, or recreation center; except, that a
license holder or an applicant who has applied prior to December 17, 2024, shall not be
permitted to locate within 300 feet of a preschool, primary or secondary school, or recreation
center.
                         “(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, an unlicensed
establishment license holder or applicant that applied for a retailer or internet retailer license
during the 90-calendar-day open application period set forth in section 7a(a)(1) shall be
permitted to locate within 300 feet of a preschool, primary or secondary school, or recreation
center where the main entrance to the preschool, primary school or secondary school, or
recreation center is actually on or occupies ground zoned commercial or industrial according to
the official atlases of the Zoning Commission of the District of Columbia.
                 “(2) A retailer or internet retailer that received a license in compliance with
paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not have to relocate to renew its license at its existing
location if a preschool, primary or secondary school, or recreation center subsequently locates
within 400 feet of its facility.”.
        (c) Section 7b (D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.06b) is amended by adding a new subsection
(a-1) to read as follows:
        “(a-1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an unlicensed establishment
may be summarily closed and padlocked, without a prior hearing, pursuant to section 9(g) after
April 1, 2025, if, after an inspection, ABCA determines that the unlicensed establishment
presents an imminent danger to the health or safety of the public as described in section
9(g)(2).”.
        (d) Section 9 (D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.08) is amended as follows:
                 (1) Subsection (b) is amended by redesignating the second paragraph (1) as
paragraph (2).
                 (2) A new subsection (c-1) is added to read as follows:
        “(c-1) It shall be a violation of this act for a licensed establishment or an unlicensed
establishment, regardless of whether the unlicensed establishment has an application pending
before the ABC Board, to sell, exchange as part of a commercial transaction, or deliver Schedule
I substances or products that contain Schedule I substances.”.
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                                                                         ENROLLED ORIGINAL
               (3) Subsection (g) is amended as follows:
                      (A) Paragraph (1) is amended as follows:
                              (i) Strike the phrase “this title” and insert the phrase “this act” in
its place.
                                (ii) Strike the phrase “cannabis and cannabis products” and insert
the phrase “cannabis, cannabis products, Schedule I substances, or products that contain
Schedule I substances” in its place.
                        (B) A new paragraph (6) is added to read as follows:
                “(6) The ABC Board may continue the summary closure, padlocking of the
premises, and seizure of cannabis, cannabis products, Schedule I substances, and products
containing Schedule I substances until the imminent danger that triggered the summary closure is
abated. Even if the imminent danger that triggered the summary closure is abated, the ABC
Board may continue the summary closure, the padlocking of the premises, and the seizure of
cannabis, cannabis products, Schedule I substances, and products containing Schedule I
substances, if the ABC Board determines, in its reasonable judgment, the imminent danger is
likely to recur.”.
                (4) A new subsection (g-1) is added to read as follows:
        “(g-1)(1) The ABC Board may summarily close and order the padlocking, by ABCA or
MPD without a prior hearing, of a licensed establishment, and ABCA or MPD may seize all
cannabis, cannabis products, Schedule I substances, and products containing Schedule I
substances found at the premises, if, after an inspection, ABCA determines that the licensed
establishment presents an imminent danger to the health and safety of the public for the reasons
set forth in subsection (g)(2)(C) through (G) of this section.
                “(2) ABCA shall provide the licensed establishment’s owner and the property
owner with written notice of the summary closure and the right to request a hearing.
                “(3) The owner of the licensed establishment shall have 5 business days after
service of the notice of summary closure to request a hearing with the ABC Board, which shall
hold a hearing within 5 business days of a timely request.
                “(4) The ABC Board shall issue a written decision within 5 business days after the
hearing, or if no hearing is requested, within 10 business days after the service of the notice.
                “(5) The ABC Board may continue the summary closure, padlocking of the
premises, and seizure of cannabis, cannabis products, Schedule I substances, and products
containing Schedule I substances until the imminent danger that triggered the summary closure is
abated. Even if the imminent danger that triggered the summary closure is abated, the Board may
continue the summary closure, the padlocking of the premises, and the seizure of cannabis,
cannabis products, Schedule I substances, and products containing Schedule I substances, if the
ABC Board determines, in its reasonable judgment, the imminent danger is likely to recur.”.
                (5) Subsection (h) is amended as follows:
                        (A) Paragraph (1) is amended to read as follows:
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                                                                      ENROLLED ORIGINAL
        “(h)(1) ABCA or the Metropolitan Police Department may post signage at the site of the
unlicensed establishment or licensed establishment indicating that activity that violates this act
has been found to have occurred at the establishment.”.
                       (B) Paragraph (2) is amended by striking the phrase “unlicensed
establishment” and inserting the phrase “unlicensed establishment or licensed establishment” in
its place.
                (6) Subsection (i)(1) is amended to read as follows:
        “(i)(1) An ABCA investigator may test cannabis and cannabis products found at a
licensed establishment or unlicensed establishment to quantify their THC content and may, to the
extent the investigator has probable cause to do so, test other substances and products found at a
licensed establishment or unlicensed establishment for the presence and quantity of a Schedule I
substance.”.
       Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement.
       The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement of the Budget Director as the fiscal impact
statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved
October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a).
       Sec. 4. Effective date.
       This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), and shall remain in effect for no longer than
90 days, as provided for emergency acts of the Council of the District of Columbia in section
412(a) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 788;
D.C. Official Code § 1-204.12(a)).
               ___________________________________
               Chairman
               Council of the District of Columbia
_________________________________
Mayor
District of Columbia
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