2023 District of Columbia Code
Title 7 - Human Health Care and Safety
Chapter 16B - Use of Marijuana for Medical Treatment
§ 7–1671.01. Definitions

*NOTE: This section includes amendments by emergency legislation that will expire on January 28, 2024. To view the text of this section after the expiration of all emergency and temporary legislation affecting this section, click this link: Permanent Version.*

*NOTE: This section includes amendments by temporary legislation that will expire on July 10, 2024. To view the text of this section after the expiration of all emergency and temporary legislation affecting this section, click this link: Permanent Version.*

For the purposes of this chapter, the term:

(1) "ABC Board" means the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board established by § 25-201.

(1A) "ABCA" means the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration established by § 25-202.

(1B) "Adjacent" means located within the same physical structure as, and is abutting, adjoining, bordering, touching, contiguous to, or otherwise physically meeting.

(1C) “Administer” or “administration” means the direct introduction of medical cannabis, whether by inhalation, ingestion, or any other means, into the body of a person.

(1D) "Advanced practice registered nurse" means an individual licensed and in good standing to practice advanced practice registered nursing under District law.

(1E) "Another jurisdiction" means any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

(1F) "Authorized practitioner" means a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, physician assistant, dentist, or naturopathic physician who is licensed and in good standing to practice under District law.

(2) “Bona fide relationship with a qualifying patient” means a relationship between an authorized practitioner and qualifying patient for which the authorized practitioner:

(A) Has completed a full assessment of the patient's medical or dental history and current medical or dental condition, including a personal physical or dental examination; and

(B) Has responsibility for the ongoing care and treatment of the patient.

(2A) "Cannabis" shall have the same meaning as provided in § 48-901.02(3).

(3) "Caregiver" means a person at least 18 years of age who is designated by a qualifying patient as the person authorized, on the qualifying patient's behalf, to possess, obtain from a licensed retailer, internet retailer or courier, dispense, administer, and assist in the administration of medical cannabis.

(4) “Controlled Substances Act” means Unit A of Chapter 9 of Title 48 [ § 48-901.02 et seq.].

(4A) "Courier" means a platform or business that:

(A) Is licensed to conduct business in the District;

(B) Has a contractual relationship with a holder of a medical cannabis retailer license or internet retailer license to provide delivery services or facilitate the sale of medical cannabis or medical cannabis products for deliveries in the District to qualifying patients or caregivers through the use of the internet, a mobile application, or a similar technology platform; and

(C) Uses its own employees or independent contractors.

(5) “Cultivation center” means a facility operated by an organization or business registered with ABCA pursuant to § 7-1671.05 from or at which medical cannabis is cultivated, possessed, manufactured, and distributed in the form of medical cannabis, and paraphernalia is possessed and distributed to dispensaries.

(5A) "Dentist" means an individual who is licensed and in good standing to practice dentistry under District law, but does not include an individual who only holds a dental teaching license.

(6) Repealed.

(7) Repealed.

(8) “Dispense” means to distribute medical cannabis to a qualifying patient or caregiver pursuant to this chapter and the rules issued pursuant to § 7-1671.13.

(9) “Distribute” means the actual, constructive, or attempted transfer from one person to another.

(9A) "DSLBD" means the Department of Small and Local Business Development.

(9B) "Economically disadvantaged individual" shall have the same meaning as provided in § 2-218.02(7).

(9C) "Internet retailer" means a platform or business that is licensed to conduct business in the District, provides delivery services, and facilitates the sale of medical cannabis or medical cannabis products for deliveries to qualifying patients or caregivers through the use of the internet, a mobile application, or similar technology platform, and that does not have a physical location that is open to the public.

(10) “Manufacture” means the production, preparation, propagation, compounding, conversion, or processing of cannabis, either directly or indirectly by extraction from substances of natural origin, or independently by means of chemical synthesis, or by a combination of extraction and chemical synthesis, and includes any packaging or repackaging of the substance or labeling or re-labeling of its container.

(11) Repealed.

(11A) "Manufacturer" means a facility operated by an organization or business licensed with ABCA pursuant to § 7-1671.05 to:

(A) Process medical cannabis from cultivation centers into medical cannabis concentrates and medical cannabis-infused products;

(B) Package and label medical cannabis concentrates and medical cannabis-infused products for dispensing at licensed retailers and internet retailers; and

(C) Sell medical cannabis concentrates and medical cannabis-infused products at wholesale to licensed retailers and internet retailers.

(12) "Medical cannabis" means cannabis cultivated, manufactured, possessed, distributed, dispensed, obtained, or administered in accordance with this chapter and the rules issued pursuant to § 7-1671.13.

(12A) "Medical cannabis certified business enterprise" means a business enterprise that operates a cultivation center, retailer, internet retailer, courier, manufacturer, or testing laboratory that:

(A) Is certified by DSLBD as an equity impact enterprise, as that term is defined in § 2-218.02(8A), and rules issued pursuant to subchapter IX-A of Chapter 2 of Title 2;

(B) Demonstrates to the satisfaction of DSLBD that more than 50% of the employees of the business enterprise are residents of the District; and

(C) Submits a form to ABCA attesting under the penalty of perjury that the annual personal net income of each owner of the enterprise applying for a cultivation center, retailer, internet retailer, cultivator, courier, manufacturer, or testing laboratory license does not exceed $349,999.

(12B) "Medical cannabis product" means a product derived from or composed of medical cannabis, in part or in whole.

(13) “Minor” means any person under 18 years of age, but does not include an emancipated minor.

(13A) "Naturopathic physician" means an individual who is licensed and in good standing to practice naturopathic medicine under District law.

(13B) "Non-resident cardholder" means a non-District resident who is a person who resides or is domiciled in another state, territory, foreign country, or foreign territory and who:

(A) Is not enrolled in another jurisdiction's medical cannabis program; and

(B) Has submitted documentation required by ABCA for a temporary registration identification card valid for periods established by the ABC Board by rulemaking, which are between 3 days and no longer than one year in length and received confirmation from ABCA of their registration.

(14) “Paraphernalia” means:

(A) Objects used, intended for use, or designed for use in preparing, storing, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing medical cannabis into the human body; and

(B) Kits, objects, devices, or equipment used, intended for use, or designed for use in planting, propagating, manufacturing, cultivating, growing, harvesting, processing, or preparing medical cannabis.

(14A) "Pesticide" includes:

(A) Any substance or mixture of substances intended to prevent, destroy, control, repel, or mitigate any insect, rodent, snail, slug, fungus, weed, or any other form of plant or animal life or virus, except a virus on or in a living person or other animal, that is normally considered to be a pest;

(B) Any substance or mixture of substances intended to be used as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant; and

(C) Any spray adjuvant.

(15) “Physician” means an individual who is licensed and in good standing to practice medicine or osteopathy under District law.

(15A) "Physician assistant" means an individual who is licensed and in good standing to practice as a physician assistant under District law.

(16) “Program” means the medical cannabis program established by § 7-1671.05.

(17) "Qualifying medical or dental condition" means any condition for which treatment with medical cannabis would be beneficial, as determined by an authorized practitioner.

(18) “Qualifying medical or dental treatment” means:

(A) Chemotherapy;

(B) The use of azidothymidine or protease inhibitors;

(C) Radiotherapy; or

(D) Any other treatment, as determined by rulemaking, whose side effects require treatment through the administration of medical cannabis in the same manner as a qualifying medical or dental condition.

(19) “Qualifying patient” means a resident of the District who has a qualifying medical or dental condition or is undergoing a qualifying medical or dental treatment, a patient who is a non-resident cardholder, or a patient enrolled in another jurisdiction's medical cannabis program; provided, that a patient who is a non-resident cardholder or a patient from another jurisdiction shall not be a qualifying patient if ABCA determines that there is a shortage of medical cannabis or the real-time electronic records system referenced in § 7-1671.05(4)(A) [rewritten] is inactive.

(19A) "Real-time electronic records" means a records system that is able to track the amount of medical cannabis that District residents and patients from another jurisdiction purchase in real-time.

(20) “Residence” means a dwelling or dwelling unit in which a person lives in a particular locality with the intent to make it a fixed and permanent home.

(20A) "Retailer" means a facility operated by an organization or business licensed with ABCA pursuant to § 7-1671.05 from or at which medical cannabis is possessed and dispensed, and paraphernalia is possessed and distributed to a qualifying patient or a caregiver.

(20B) "Returning citizen" means a District resident who was arrested, convicted, or incarcerated for a cannabis or drug-related offense.

(20C) "Social equity applicant" means an applicant for licensure with ABCA pursuant to § 7-1671.06 who satisfies 2 or more of the following criteria:

(A) The applicant has at least one owner who is a District resident, individually or collectively owns at least 50% of the business, and is a returning citizen;

(B) The applicant has at least one owner who is a District resident, individually or collectively owns at least 50% of the business, and is married to or in a civil union, has a child, or is the child of a person or has a non-parent legal guardian, or a grandparent or a sibling who is or has been arrested, convicted, or incarcerated in the District or in any other jurisdiction for a cannabis or drug-related offense; or

(C) The applicant has at least one owner who is a District resident, individually or collectively owns at least 50% of the business and has an income that does not exceed 150% of the median family income as set forth by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, adjusted for household size, at the time the applicant submits the application.

(20D) "Straw ownership" means nominal ownership without the attendant benefits and risks of genuine ownership, where a person, often for a fee, allows themselves to be named on documents or purports in writing to be an owner, in whole or in part, for the purpose of satisfying a government regulatory requirement.

(21) "Testing laboratory" means an entity that is not owned or operated by a director, officer, member, incorporator, agent, or employee of a cultivation center, manufacturer, retailer, internet retailer, courier, or other license category established by rulemaking and is licensed by ABCA to test medical cannabis and medical cannabis products that are to be sold pursuant to this chapter.

(22) "Unlicensed establishment" means a sole proprietorship, partnership, or other business entity that:

(A) Sells, exchanges as part of a commercial transaction, or delivers cannabis and cannabis products;

(B) Operates at or delivers from a specific location in the District; and

(C) Is not licensed by ABCA as a cultivation center, retailer, internet retailer, manufacturer, courier, or testing laboratory.

(Feb. 25, 2010, D.C. Law 13-315, § 2; as added July 27, 2010, D.C. Law 18-210, § 2, 57 DCR 4798; Mar. 10, 2015, D.C. Law 20-189, § 2(a), 61 DCR 12119; Feb. 18, 2017, D.C. Law 21-209, § 2(a), 63 DCR 15291; Dec. 3, 2020, D.C. Law 23-149, § 5012(a), 67 DCR 10493; Mar. 22, 2023, D.C. Law 24-332, § 3(a), 70 DCR 1582; Oct. 30, 2023, D.C. Act 25-276, § 2(a), 70 DCR 14480; Nov. 28, 2023, D.C. Law 25-73, § 2(a), 70 DCR 13742.)

This section is referenced in § 3-1202.03, § 48-904.01, and § 48-1103.

The 2015 amendment by D.C. Law 20-189 rewrote (17).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of Medical Cannabis Patient Access Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2023 (D.C. Act 25-276, Oct. 30, 2023, 70 DCR 14480).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of Medical Cannabis Clarification and Non-Resident Patient Access Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2023 (D.C. Act 25-275, Oct. 26, 2023, 70 DCR 14476).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of Medical Cannabis Clarification and Non-Resident Patient Access Emergency Amendment Act of 2023 (D.C. Act 25-194, July 31, 2023, 70 DCR 10733).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of Medical Marijuana Patient Access Extension Second Emergency Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Act 24-565, Oct. 17, 2022, 0 DCR 0).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of Medical Cannabis Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Act 24-448, June 28, 2022, 69 DCR 007753).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of Medical Cannabis Emergency Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Act 24-356, Mar. 28, 2022, 69 DCR 002635).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of Medical Cannabis Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2021 (D.C. Act 24-104, June 17, 2021, 68 DCR 006458).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of Medical Cannabis Emergency Amendment Act of 2021 (D.C. Act 24-75, Mar. 22, 2021, 68 DCR 004932).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of Medical Marijuana Cultivation Center Expansion Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2016 (D.C. Act 21-475, July 21, 2016, 63 DCR 10179).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a)(1A) of Medical Marijuana Cultivation Center Expansion Emergency Amendment Act of 2016 (D.C. Act 21-396, May 19, 2016, 63 DCR 7908).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of Medical Marijuana Expansion Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2015 (D.C. Act 21-3, Feb. 19, 2015, 62 DCR 2468).

For temporary (90 day) addition, see § 2 of Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative Applicability Emergency Amendment Act of 2009 (D.C. Act 18-323, March 1, 2010, 57 DCR 1849).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of the Medical Marijuana Expansion Emergency Amendment Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-396, July 29, 2014, 61 DCR 8255).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of the Medical Marijuana Expansion Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-479, Nov. 12, 2014, 61 DCR 12129, 20 STAT 4403).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of the Medical Marijuana Cultivation Center Expansion Emergency Amendment Act of 2015 (D.C. Act 21-104, July 20, 2015, 62 DCR 9965).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of the Medical Marijuana Cultivation Center Expansion Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2015 (D.C. Act 21-156, Oct. 16, 2015, 62 DCR 13707).

For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of Medical Cannabis Clarification and Non-Resident Patient Access Temporary Amendment Act of 2023 (D.C. Law 25-73, Nov. 28, 2023, 70 DCR 13742).

For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of Medical Marijuana Patient Access Extension Second Temporary Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-229, Dec. 21, 2022, 69 DCR 13901).

For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of Medical Cannabis Temporary Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-136, June 30, 2022, 69 DCR 005040).

For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of Medical Cannabis Temporary Amendment Act of 2021 (D.C. Law 24-13, July 28, 2021, 68 DCR 005834).

For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of Medical Marijuana Cultivation Center Expansion Temporary Amendment Act of 2016 (D.C. Law 21-146, Aug. 19, 2016, 63 DCR 9282).

Section 2 of D.C. Law 18-152 added a section to read as follows:

“Sec. 11a. Applicability. This act shall apply upon the effective date o the Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative Amendment Act of 2010, as introduced on January 19, 2010 (D.C. Bill 18-622).”

Section 4(b) of D.C. Law 18-152 provided that the act shall expire after 225 days of its having taken effect.

For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of the Medical Marijuana Expansion Temporary Amendment Act of 2014 (D.C. Law 20-163, February 26, 2015, 60 DCR 10753).

For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of the Medical Marijuana Cultivation Center Expansion Temporary Amendment Act of 2015 (D.C. Law 21-33, Oct. 21, 2015, 62 DCR 10896).

History of D.C. Law 13-315.

Initiative 59, permitting the use of marijuana for medical treatment, was certified as a proper subject for an initiative by the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics on September 17, 1998. In reaction to the certification, Congress enacted and the President signed the “Barr Amendment” that prohibited the use of appropriated funds to conduct any ballot initiative which sought to legalize or otherwise reduce penalties associated with a controlled substance. Since, the ballots for the November 3 election had already been printed before enactment of the Barr Amendment, District voters still considered the initiative.

After the vote, the Board of Elections and Ethics refused, in light of the Barr Amendment, to release and certify the results of the vote on Initiative 59. Certain District of Columbia voters then sued the Board.

In Turner v. District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics, 77 F.Supp.2d 25 (D.D.C. 1999), the court ruled that the Board could count and certify the election results concerning Initiative 59. After the count, the Board announced that Initiative 59 had been approved by the voters and certified the results. The initiative was eventually assigned D.C. Act 13-138.

On October 20, 1999, the District of Columbia Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) submitted a fiscal impact statement that found that implementation of Act 13-138 would have a fiscal impact and recommended that the cost be included in the development of the fiscal year 2001 budget.

On October 25, 1999, the District of Columbia Council transmitted D.C. Act 13-138 to the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority (“Control Board”).

On October 26, 1999, the Control Board informed the Council that it would not accept D.C. Act 13-138 without a revised fiscal impact statement from the CFO.

On September 30, 2001, the Control Board suspended its activities.

Between 1998 and 2009 all District of Columbia appropriations acts contained language that prevented Initiative 59 from taking effect as law. Congress did not include the language in the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2010 (Pub. L. 111-117).

With the removal of the “Bar Amendment”, the Council transmitted Act 13-138 to Congress on December 21, 2009, for a 30-day period of review.

D.C. Act 13-138 became D.C. Law 13-315 on February 25, 2010, and is published at 57 DCR 3360. D.C. Law 18-210 amended D.C. Law 13-315 in its entirety “to read as follows.”

Establishment of Medical Marijuana Program Pursuant to the Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1999, see Mayor’s Order 2011-71, April 13, 2011 ( 58 DCR 3527).