173 more unlicensed D.C. gifting dispensaries and their landlords have been named as defendants in five additional cases of a civil lawsuit filed in federal court by The Alliance of Legal Cannabis Entities-DC or ALCE.
The most recent case, number seven of the total cases, was filed Dec. 17, 2024. All cases have been paused by the judge until ALCE files its final case. It is not clear if there will be more filings or not.
The most recent filings demand compensation for profits of almost $12 million from gifting dispensaries for alleged violation of the Lanham Act for “unfair competition and false advertising, violation of D.C. common law against unfair competition, and negligence in selling illegal cannabis without a license issued by ABCA.”
The most recently padlocked dispensary, Nomad, from which pounds of methamphetamines and cocaine were also confiscated, is named in this most recent ALCE lawsuit. The property owner of Nomad’s Southeast location, according to the lawsuit, is Hue Thi Nguyen who shares the same last name as one of the defendants arrested in a Adams Morgan raid of Kaliiva this past spring. None of those defendants arrested in that raid have been convicted.
Though the legal precedent that the lawsuit is based on, The Lanham Act, has never been tested in this context, the civil lawsuits still present a serious nuisance to the named defendants.
ALCE’s lawyer, John Brunenkant, argues that the defendants falsely advertised their cannabis as legal in D.C. and therefore “siphoned” off legal dispensaries profits.
“ALCE” is formed by the legal medical dispensaries Cannabliss, Holistic Wellness Group LLC, and Herbal Alternatives. Cannabliss is currently closed and transitioning locations, but Herbal Alternatives is still open.
The first of the civil complaints were filed by ALCE in September after hundreds of letters went out to defendants over the 2024 spring.
ALCE’s complaints have gotten more specific in preceding months, the most rent lawsuits list alleged profits that ALCE seeks recompense for. The lawsuit alleges that “Faced with squeezed margins and substantial commercial sales diverted to the illegal market, several legal licensed cultivators/manufacturers and retailers have been forced to discontinue operations, while illegal market participants such as defendants here have continued to grow and divert commercial sales.”
ALCE has sued not just gifting shop entities but also their landlords. In one well known gifting dispensaries case, Gifted Curators, ALCE hypothesizes that the gifting dispensary made almost $2 million in revenue over three years of which almost $500,000 was profit. The lawsuit then argues that the landlord made almost $200,000 in profits over the dispensary’s lease duration.
It also details the enforcement actions taken by The Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration against the business. ALCE claims that Gifted Curators was continuing to sell cannabis over a month after receiving a cease and desist from ABCA. Gifted Curators entered into a consent agreement with ABCA a little less than a month after the ALCE alleges it was still selling cannabis illegally.
The following profits were listed in the last two civil complaints:
- Gifted Adams Morgan Dispensary- $484,492
- Grass Adams Morgan Dispensary- $222,007
- For Heady Adams Morgan Dispensary- $356,557
- For Basement Adams Morgan Dispensary- $375,000
- For Capsterdam Adams Morgan Dispensary-$359,987
- For Capital Adams Morgan Dispensary-$180,000
- For AK Columbia Height Dispensary-$531,024
- For Lit Columbia Heights Dispensary-$445,500
- For Safe H Street Dispensary-$446,250
- For Karma Petworth Dispensary-$318,750
- For Buzz Park View Dispensary-$321,750
- For MASC U Street Dispensary- $306,551
- For Flight U Street Dispensary- $302,062
- For Green U Street Dispensary- $499,537
- For Nomad H Street Dispensary- $361,728
- Nomad Anacostia Dispensary- $180,036
- Guys DuPont Circle Dispensary- $238,333
- Guys Logan Circle Dispensary- $817,800
- Guys U Street Dispensary- $301,455
- Guys Capitol Hill Dispensary-$432,877
- AA Truxton Circle Dispensary-$443,065
- AA Adams Morgan Dispensary-$98,500
- AA H Street Dispensary-$483,720
- AA U Street Dispensary-$240,622
- Mother Capitol Hill Dispensary-$542,510
- Giving H Street Dispensary-$594,000
- Flowerz Capitol Hill Dispensary-$405,000
- NKA Capitol Hill Dispensary- $592,500
- Euphoria Capitol Hill Dispensary- $270,000
- Bud Capitol Hill Dispensary- $157,500
- Friends Capitol Hill Dispensary- $494,970
- Puff DuPont Circle Dispensary-$157,500
Note: Members will have access to an exclusive list of all defendants by the end of this week. Please become a subscriber to receive the email.
