District regulators and local law enforcement have padlocked an unlicensed smoke shop in Northwest Washington, confiscating dozens of pounds of cannabis products, suspected psilocybin edibles, and arresting one employee.
The enforcement action took place Wednesday, Oct. 28, at DC Tobacco and Gifts Palace, located at 3331 Connecticut Ave. NW in the Cleveland Park commercial corridor. Inspectors from the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA), alongside officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), served an immediate closure order after determining that the storefront’s unauthorized operations presented an imminent danger to public health and safety.
Authorities arrested Adil Khan during the operation. Khan faces charges of distribution of a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute.
According to an agency inventory, investigators seized a substantial variety of unregulated cannabis products, alongside suspected psychedelics:
- THC Edibles: 39,659.2 grams (approximately 87.4 pounds)
- Raw Marijuana: 7.5 pounds
- Mushroom Edibles: 2,275 grams (approximately 5 pounds)
- THC Vape Cartridges: 1,336 grams
- THC Concentrates: 567 grams
- THC Wax: 46 grams
- THC Resin: 16 grams
The closure comes amid shifting retail dynamics along that stretch of Connecticut Avenue. As noted by PoPville, the raid occurred directly across the street from a planned new storefront for Street Lawyer Services, a well-known legacy brand from the District’s Initiative 71 era. Street Lawyer Services, which originally launched under the city’s gifting framework, has been among the high-profile operators navigating D.C.’s transition toward a fully regulated commercial marketplace.
The shutdown of DC Tobacco and Gifts Palace brings the District’s running total of shuttered unlicensed operators to 114 storefronts since lawmakers granted ABCA expanded civil enforcement authority in early 2024. Under that statute, regulators can inspect unlicensed businesses, levy administrative fines, and padlock storefronts operating outside the licensed medical framework without seeking prior court approval.
For years, unregulated storefronts proliferated throughout the District using “gifting” models established after Initiative 71 legalized personal possession and home cultivation in 2014, while congressional budget riders barred the District from creating a traditional taxed-and-regulated adult-use retail system. In response, city leaders established a phased transition pipeline to bring eligible operators into the licensed medical cannabis market, while steadily escalating joint agency enforcement against retailers that continue to operate outside the regulatory framework.
District officials continue to encourage residents to submit anonymous complaints regarding suspected illegal cannabis sales through ABCA’s online portal, while directing consumers seeking lab-tested products to the city’s official registry of licensed medical dispensaries.
