Marijuana in the DC Metropolitan area has always been a culture of complication. While crack cocaine created the controversy in the 80s and 90s, weed has always been in the backdraft of DC’s urban elements. Legalization and recreation was a distant thought, and weed was 
heavily scrutinized, as the substantial weed demand coincided with the demand for “dipper,” a psychotropic drug composed of marijuana and PCP (if not a cigarette). But under the Obama administration, for the first time, the stigma surrounding weed in DC began to shed ever so slightly. Since Obama’s presidency, recreational weed in DC has seen the light of day, as dispensaries, and “dispensaries,” have emerged, some as many as 2 to 4 haberdasheries on any popular city strip.
A PCP warning from the 90s
These weed shops have allowed for DC natives to meet, patronize, and participate the cannabis business. In 2022, the axe came down, as many of these spaces for cannabis culture have since been aggressively shut down. Since conception, there’s been plenty of push-n-pull, give-n-take, good-n-bad, with this new “recreational” availability of weed in DC. An uptick in armed robbery of dispensaries, has startled the community, most outstanding being the recent murder of known local music artist Philip “Phil Da Phuture” Prendergast, who was working at “Hotbox Uptown”, a dispensary on Georgia Avenue NW. This devastating incident has further put a spotlight on the local weed scene, as harsher scrutiny came down on weed establishments across the area.
Like anything else in the city, DC has had always had a cannabis culture of its own. Frequent summer evenings in Rock Creek Park, with the trees and trickling water hosting the “puff-pass” sessions; nights on the town with a Go-Go soundtrack, thick weed clouds enveloping groups of club-goers. Knowing who to see, or sustaining a substantial personal stash, was a source of pride for anyone who could keep up, and the varieties of weed coming into the region, inspired a taste for the exotic. 
The connection with weed and DC tradition, is fluid and homegrown. As recreational marijuana has changed the dynamics of the market in the city, the issue became, acquiring a little smoke without brushing up against the legalities. As the question of how to properly regulate it has been semi-“up in the air,” the I71 Compliance Initiative, seems to have some perpetually vague language, pertaining to the “money for goods” exchange and enforcement. The “grey-area,” lies in the “gifting,” where, up to an ounce can be “gifted” to the patron, while “purchasing” an item from the establishment, such as a t-shirt, or accessory. 
Marijuana has been legal in DC since 2014, yet is still illegal at the federal level, as the US Congress blocks DC from regulating sales, making it legal to possess, but illegal to regulate commercially. The semantics have created no clear path to licensing for businesses operating in the city, and many have been subject to legal scrutiny, raids and closure. Since the Medical Cannabis Conditional License and Unlicensed Establishment Closure Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2024 on July 15, 2024, authorities in the city, have intensified efforts to close unlicensed cannabis dispensaries operating illegally. A few of the raids and closings are:
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All the Buzz DC: Located at 3232 Georgia Avenue NW, this establishment was shut down in late November 2024 after authorities seized over 26 pounds of marijuana, 35 pounds of THC edibles, and other illegal products. Fox 5 DC
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Peace in the Air: Situated at 2118 18th Street NW, this business was closed in November 2024 for operating without a license, despite a prior cease and desist order. Fox 5 DC
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Flight Pass/Green Room: Located at 1338 U Street NW, this establishment was shut down in September 2024 after authorities found it operating in violation of a cease and desist order. Outlaw Report
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Safe House: This business was among several unlicensed cannabis establishments closed by D.C. authorities in 2024. Outlaw Report
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VIP Clientele: Another unlicensed cannabis business shut down by D.C. authorities in 2024. Outlaw Report
- Farmerz/Stoners: On 3236 Prospect Street NW, this business was closed in September 2024 for selling unregulated cannabis products, despite a prior cease and desist order. Fox 5 DC
As of mid-2024, there were 15 licensed cannabis dispensaries operating in D.C. To the contrary, there is an estimated 200 to 300 unlicensed “gifting” shops active in the city. As of April 2025 the local government has shut down at least 50 cannabis shops, and at least 5 licensed shops have shut down due to saturated competition and operational costs.
Where is recreational marijuana headed? As more daunting pressure and control is applied to the dispensary market, where will customers turn to get their buds?
Here is where we may see a boost in street sales. Whether right or wrong, customers shop where the price is right! If purchasing weed from dispensaries becomes more stringent, more expensive, its natural to “go with what you know.” What was once a moderately safe, communal experience, has become formatted and mechanical, as the local office interjects itself into the market, ratcheting up the prices, and “hovering” over transactions. The cheap prices of the “alternative” market, and maybe a dash of neighborhood hospitality, are what attracts people to the illicit vendors and unlicensed dispensaries. Like the black market, some of the gifting storefronts were allegedly host to a mixture of other narcotics and unregulated substances on the watchlist of the
Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA). Dispensary raids uncovered cannabis products contaminated with amphetamines such as the products from “Greenfield Garden.” Authorities seized two pounds of marijuana, 46 grams of THC wax, and 10 grams of entheogenic mushrooms from “VIP Clientele.” From “Safe House” over 11 pounds of marijuana, 164 grams of entheogenic mushrooms, and THC-laced edibles were recovered. These raids have exemplified why the burgeoning industry requires a measure of oversight, and management. Public health and safety becomes a requisite to business when introducing the legalization of consumables such as cannabis. Although the old stigmas of the “gateway drug” are not looming over the industry, they haven’t totally faded, yet with this latest scrutiny, it seems it may be warranted.
Can we have this, or not have this? It seems cultivators were lured by the broad language, and then entrapped by even broader language and sweeping enforcement. Legalization, recreational marijuana and the aggressive push to mandate it, may be the slippery slope, that disrupts DC’s own cannabis culture.
Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration hasn’t been the most popular amongst the locals of the Metro area, with the viewpoint that she has benefited from the city’s redevelopment, amidst increasing living costs, homelessness and at the expense of longstanding resident’s forced to sell their family homes. So the sweeping shutdown of “illegitimate” marijuana dispensaries, the heightened restriction, and assertion over the market, is seen as barging of her office, and for-profit power move. The most recent mayoral mandate, is a $20 “self-certify” 30-day revolving medical marijuana portal, admitting the buyer to purchase their weed, only after uploading their ID, photo, and other pertinent info into the local database. This barrier is meant to yield benefit for initiatives, set forth by the city government in the form of health, wellness, and equity programs in the city; although they feel intrusive, they may turn out for a bigger, better cause. 
The unregulated gifting market in the city, has generated $600 million as of 2024, compared to the $37 million made by the legal establishments. DC ranks second in cannabis consumption nationwide, revealing an immense potential for taxable profit, and a lucrative opportunity for the mayor’s office to capture and control. It seems, the ultimate objective is to do away with the I71 gifting model, but the strategy has been based on enforcement, and not on smoothly transitioning from unregistered to licensed, effectively bankrupting the storefronts that have served DC’s cannabis community for some time now. The prospect is that the money accumulated from licensed dispensaries, will be allocated to Healthy DC, and Health Care Expansion Fund, and other social equity programs in the city. In the meantime, it’s hopeful that those shops that have closed their doors are unimpeded during their licensing process, and may return to participate in the cannabis culture they’ve helped curate.
