It's '4/20', but when will recreational cannabis sales be legal in the DMV?

WASHINGTON — People in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia may all be celebrating “4/20” right now, but the way leaders in all three jurisdictions are approaching recreational cannabis sales are drastically different.

The state of Maryland appears to be the farthest ahead in allowing the commercial sale of recreational cannabis within its borders. Both the House of Delegates and Senate in Annapolis have approved a bill that would effectively set up a commercial framework for such sales, on July 1, for anyone 21 or older in the state. 

While Governor Wes Moore has not signed that legislation yet, he’s widely expected to. One day after he became governor, Moore announced a $46 million investment for creating cannabis reforms in the state.

"It's interesting because it seems everyone is like [Maryland] took the longest but we actually got it right in terms of having people to have safe access to cannabis through the recreational program,” said Maryland NORML Interim Executive Director Losia Nyankale.

The legislation would also allow for 75 grower licenses, 100 processor licenses, and 300 dispensary licenses to be handed out in Maryland. Existing medical marijuana dispensaries would also be allowed to convert their licenses for recreational commercial sales too.

"We are definitely leading the game because there are so many people who don't have a safe place to consume what they have purchased,” Nyankale said.

In Virginia, it’s a very different story.

The General Assembly in Richmond, during Governor Ralph Northam’s time in office, initially approved allowing retail sales to occur at the beginning of 2024 so long as lawmakers also set up a legal framework for recreational sales in the future.

Well, so far, they haven’t since Governor Glenn Youngkin has been in office.

House Republicans defeated Democrat Senator Adam Ebbin’s retail bill in February effectively leaving the Commonwealth without a settled framework for recreational cannabis sales until its next session in 2024. 

“Republicans were not willing to consider recreational sales for cannabis in Virginia even if it’s legal to possess cannabis in Virginia,” he said. “So, this is an election year in Virginia, with all 140 seats in the General Assembly up. So, the election will decide whether cannabis will be commercially available or not.”

The District of Columbia is likely the farthest away from seeing direct, commercial sales in the future.

In 2014, local activist Adam Eidinger crafted Initiative 71, with DC Councilmembers, to make it legal for District residents to grow and possess limited amounts of marijuana on private property.

However, local leaders have been prohibited from setting up a taxation system for the substance, or even allowing direct recreational cannabis sales locally, due to a recurring annual federal budget provision nicknamed the “Harris Rider”. That provision was included in President Joe Biden’s latest budget proposal.