The District of Columbia Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board (ABCB) has denied a medical cannabis retailer license application filed by TK 539, LLC, doing business as Aloha, citing the owner’s repeated involvement in illegal cannabis operations and determining that he is not fit for licensure.
In an order issued July 22, the Board unanimously concluded that owner Saleh Salim failed to demonstrate the good character and fitness required under District regulations for a medical cannabis business license. The decision follows a qualifications hearing held in June after regulators raised concerns about Salim’s compliance history.
According to the Board, Salim previously owned or controlled three separate businesses that were the subject of summary closure actions for selling unlicensed, untested, and improperly labeled cannabis products.
Those enforcement actions included:
- March 2025: Budz and Roses Dispensary at 1203 U Street NW was shut down for operating as an unlicensed cannabis retailer and selling untested cannabis products.
- September 2025: Tobacco King at 1718 14th Street NW was closed after investigators found untested cannabis products that posed an imminent danger to public health, along with products lacking legally required labeling.
- October 2025: A second Tobacco King location at 934 Rhode Island Avenue NE was also shut down for similar violations involving untested and improperly labeled cannabis.
In each case, Salim signed settlement agreements requiring the businesses to cease illegal cannabis sales and comply with District law. Investigators testified that they had multiple conversations with Salim over nearly two years regarding the District’s cannabis regulations and his businesses’ illegal activities.
During a February fact-finding hearing, Salim denied being personally involved in the illegal operations, attributing the violations to previous owners or employees and stating that he was no longer involved in any unlawful cannabis activity. However, the Board found those statements lacked credibility.
In its legal analysis, the Board emphasized that District regulations require every cannabis applicant to demonstrate good character and general fitness before a license can be issued. Board members concluded that Salim’s repeated history of operating businesses engaged in illegal cannabis sales showed a pattern of disregard for the District’s cannabis laws and raised serious concerns about his ability to responsibly operate a licensed dispensary.
“The continuation of illegal cannabis sales and the failure to prevent illegal diversion undermines the efforts of legal operators to remain compliant, encourages and fuels the District’s illegal cannabis market, and undermines the efforts of the District of Columbia to ensure a safe, healthy, and orderly medical cannabis marketplace,” the Board wrote in its decision.
As a result, the Board denied Aloha’s application and warned that future applications submitted by Salim may also be summarily denied based on the findings in the order.
