A coalition of seven D.C. Councilmembers introduced new legislation aimed at strengthening oversight of the city’s medical cannabis program and closing loopholes that allowed retailers to open near facilities serving young children.
Councilmember Charles Allen (Ward 6), joined by Councilmembers Anita Bonds, Christina Henderson, Brooke Pinto, Matthew Frumin, Janeese Lewis George and Zachary Parker, submitted the “Medical Cannabis Process Improvement Amendment Act of 2025” to the Council last week. The bill is intended to refine the District’s recently revamped medical cannabis system and improve community input in the licensing process.
According to the transmittal letter to Council Secretary Nyasha Howard, the bill responds to issues uncovered during the rollout of prior cannabis reforms and the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration’s (ABCA) experience enforcing them. Those earlier reforms were designed to bring unlicensed cannabis “gifting” shops into the regulated market and strengthen ABCA’s enforcement authority after years of congressional restrictions prevented the District from establishing a recreational cannabis system.
Allen wrote that while the Council’s actions expanded the legal market, improved patient safety and removed untested products from unregulated shops, implementation revealed several gaps that now require clarification.
Clarifying rules on proximity to child-serving facilities
One of the bill’s central provisions addresses confusion over the term “preschool,” which current law prohibits medical cannabis retailers from locating within 300 feet of. Without a statutory definition, some applicants have been allowed to open near “child development facilities” — a separate designation used by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education.
The legislation would explicitly add “child development facilities” to the list of protected sites, placing them alongside preschools, primary and secondary schools, and recreation centers under the 300-foot buffer rule. Allen said this change is needed to ensure that regulatory decisions are based on protecting young children rather than on technical distinctions in facility licensing.
Expanding protest rights for community members and ANCs
The legislation also broadens the grounds under which Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) and other parties with standing may protest a proposed medical cannabis license. Under current law, daycare centers have limited protest grounds, and none relate directly to potential impacts on children.
The bill would allow ANCs and eligible individuals to protest applications based on concerns related to peace, order, and quiet, mirroring existing standards in the city’s alcohol laws. It also adds a new protest basis focused on the inability of current law or regulations to prevent undue exposure or proximity of cannabis businesses to children.
Additionally, the bill corrects what Allen describes as a “potential discrepancy” in who may protest applications for internet retailer licenses, which were not covered under existing protest provisions. Under the proposal, ANCs would be permitted to challenge the issuance, renewal or transfer of these licenses, given their potential effects on traffic and neighborhood safety.
The bill formally amends portions of the Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1999. It repeals the existing definition of “daycare center,” replaces it with the more comprehensive “child development facility,” adds clarifying language to the distance requirements, and expands protest criteria before the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board.
The legislation will require approval by the Mayor, a 30-day congressional review period, and publication in the D.C. Register before becoming law. Allen invited stakeholders to contact his office or Legislative Director Antonio Nunes for additional information.
