Supreme Terpene is not the most prominent gifting store in D.C. or the only one allegedly gifting mushrooms. However out of 23 cease and desists delivered to stores found to be illegally gifting cannabis products in the city through August, it was the first store to get raided and padlocked shut by D.C. police on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. Two employees were arrested and charged with felony intent to distribute marijuana.
The padlocking of the first D.C. gifting store comes after pressure from the legal market to squash unlicensed store competition and after D.C.’s first testing lab opened which enforced ABCA and law enforcement’s power to close and padlock establishments that distribute untested cannabis products.
Supreme Terpene was the first unlicensed store to be accused of selling psilocybin. However two other stores, Bud Love and In the Cut were issued cease and desist on Aug. 28 that mentioned the sale of psilocybin.
Perry Young, the owner of Supreme Terpene, told the Outlaw he did not know why his shop was targeted first. Young said he was trying to transition to the legal medical market with two conditional licenses but had not closed the gifting location yet.
Supreme Terpene was first warned in April 2024 by the Alcohol Beverage and Cannabis Administration’s investigator. A cease and desist order was delivered on Jul 31, 2024.
The cease and desist order accused the store of claiming to be a dispensary without a license and selling both cannabis and psilocybin which “threatens the health and safety of the public.” There was not a hearing scheduled yet for the cease and desist.
“We planned on closing. We tried to meet with the head of enforcement to discuss our closing plan, but I guess it was too late,” Young told the Outlaw. He said he did not close despite the cease and desist and warnings because he did not believe his store would be a priority for enforcement.
“Closing a business that’s all you got is never easy. We was trying to make measures so that the staff wouldn’t be out of work right before the holidays,” Young said.
Of the 23 cease and desists, only four hearings have been scheduled and four others have been held as expedited hearings per request to ABCA’s board. Only one cease and desist has been dismissed for the location All Buzz.
It is unclear if ABCA will continue to padlock additional stores found to just be selling or gifting cannabis while unlicensed. This is a breaking story. Stay tuned for additional updates.
UPDATE from released documents:
Documents released to The Outlaw Report from ABCA and MPD reveal that Supreme Terpene was raided and closed after an undercover buy of $40 confirmed that the store was still selling cannabis. Read the police summary here, the ABCA investigation here and the closure order here.
