Peace in the Air, a well known D.C. cannabis “gifting” store, was officially closed and raided last week despite already closing weeks prior, according to the owner.
Darel Dawson, no relation to the reporter of this article, did not apply as a transitioning cannabis store in 2023. His gifting store received multiple warnings and then a cease and desist order from ABCA this fall. The Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration announced last week that it was the 14th illegal cannabis store to be padlocked since enforcement ramped up this fall.
Dawson said the store had been closed weeks prior to the raid which ABCA confirmed resulted in no product confiscation. Every other padlocked and closed store has resulted in pounds of cannabis, edibles and often alleged psychedelic mushrooms being confiscated by police. Video footage shows an office confirming there was nothing but shirts left in the store after MPD broke down the door to gain access to the empty building.
“They wasted a lot of people’s money yesterday, paying high taxes, to send all those fully geared up officers to raid an empty building,” Dawson said.
ABCA said in a press release that “Due to the business posing a credible and imminent danger to public health and safety, ABCA shuttered the business, including padlocking the doors.”
“We posed no threat with a closed store. If there was a threat presented, we posed no threat,” Dawson said. “We were closed, we were not open for business weeks prior to that either.”
Dawson said that he chose to close the store because the lease was up, and he didn’t want to extend it. He did not cite the cease and desist or city’s actions against the store as reason for closing.
Peace in the Air also held art and community events regularly including a silent disco. Dawson said that the store “offered a safe place for people to really be themselves.” It created a space for people to be beyond “harsh judgement.” “People could do their thing and people loved it,” he added.
“Cannabis itself is less of a problem than the cash that the city is not getting from it,” Dawson said. However, he said his business paid taxes while in operation. He hopes the city gets the cannabis problem right for everyone, citizens and businesses alike. And for now, he said he has transitioned on to other ventures.
This closure is just the most recent effort of ABCA to enforce cannabis regulations and address public safety concerns. Since July 15, 2024, when Bill 25-872 granted the agency expanded enforcement powers, fourteen illegal cannabis businesses have been shut down, according to the agency.
In addition, ABCA has issued 37 Cease and Desist Orders and 96 written warning letters to unlicensed cannabis businesses. Property owners of these establishments may face significant penalties, including fines and potential criminal charges, if they fail to take immediate action to cease illegal cannabis activity.
- Story was updated to correct the fact that Peace in the Air was not actually padlocked, according to the owner, despite ABCA saying it was the 14th padlocked store.
