District of Columbia Administrative Code

5436 DECISIONS OF THE BOARD 5436.1 No application shall be approved until the Board has determined that the applicant has complied with the Act and this title or, in the case of a renewal, has fulfilled the license requirements. The Board shall make findings of fact with respect …

5437 PROTEST PARTIES 5437.1 The parties to the protest hearing shall be the applicant and the protestants as identified at the roll call hearing. 5437.2 If there is more than one protestant, the Board, in its discretion, may request that multiple protestants confer among themselv…

5438 MEDIATION 5438.1 A mediation among the parties shall be held to discuss and resolve, if possible, the objections raised by the protestants. If the parties fail to reach a settlement agreement on one or more of the protest issues, they shall so inform the Board at the schedul…

5439 PROTEST HEARINGS 5439.1 The parties to a protest hearing shall be the applicant or licensee and the protestants. 5439.2 At the protest hearing, an applicant or licensee may give a brief opening statement summarizing the evidence and testimony they intend to present regarding…

5440 SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS 5440.1 The applicant and one or more ANCs that have protested, or would have standing to protest, an application pursuant to the Act or this title may, at any time, negotiate a settlement and enter into a written settlement agreement setting forth the t…

5441 SUCCESSOR ANC 5441.1 After the approval of a settlement agreement between the licensee and an ANC or the filing of a protest, if the District legally changes the boundaries of ANCs and the licensed location is located in a new ANC’s jurisdiction, the new ANC shall, to the ex…

5442 AUTOMATIC TERMINATION 5442.1 A settlement agreement shall be terminated by the Board upon petition of the applicant if the applicant shows that the Board has approved a transfer of the license to a new location at least twelve hundred feet (1,200 ft.) away from the prior loc…

5443 BOARD REVIEW OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS 5443.1 If the Board determines that the settlement agreement complies with all applicable laws and regulations and the applicant otherwise qualifies for licensure, it may, in its discretion, approve the license application, conditioned u…

5444 UNILATERAL AMENDMENT OR TERMINATION 5444.1 The Board may accept an application to amend or terminate a settlement agreement by fewer than all parties in the following circumstances: (A) During the license’s renewal period; and (B) After four (4) years from the date of the Bo…

5445 ENFORCEABLE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT PROVISIONS 5445.1 A settlement agreement enforceable by the Board under this chapter may, to the extent consistent with the Act, include: (a) Provisions allowing or prohibiting background or recorded music or other amplified sounds, restricti…

5446 UNENFORCEABLE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT PROVISIONS 5446.1 The Board shall not enforce the following if included in a settlement agreement covered by this chapter: Provisions that require approval from a signatory or third party to file an application or request with the Board; Pr…

5447 DISCOVERY OF LICENSEE DOCUMENTS 5447.1 An ANC granted standing as a protestant during the pendency of the protest may request from ABCA a copy of a contract to which a licensee is a party, an incident log kept by a licensee, or similar document, if obtained by ABCA, except f…

5448 QUALIFICATIONS HEARING 5448.1 The Board may hold a qualifications hearing before issuing, transferring, or renewing a license, registration, or permit to determine whether the applicant, licensee, registrant, or permittee meets the criteria set forth in the Act and this subt…

5449 UNLICENSED ESTABLISHMENT APPLICATION 5449.1 An unlicensed establishment described in Section 7a of the Act (D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.06a) applying for a cultivation center, internet retailer, or retailer license shall provide the information required by Section 7a of the …

5450 [RESERVED] SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 73 DCR 002136 (February 20, 2026). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Medical Cannabis 22-C DCMR § 5450 AUTHORITY: DC-DCMR Section 14 of the Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1999, effective…

5500 TRADE NAMES AND CORPORATE NAMES 5500.1 No medical cannabis business registered under the Act shall utilize any name other than that of an individual, including a corporate or trade name, without first obtaining approval from the Board for use of the corporate or trade name. …

5501 INDIVIDUAL OWNERSHIP, PARTNERSHIP, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY OR PARTNERSHIP, AND CORPORATE CHANGES 5501.1 For a corporation that holds a medical cannabis business license, if there is a change in corporate officers or directors, or other persons, owning or controlling one pe…

5502 TRANSFER OF EQUAL OR MAJORITY OWNERSHIP OR CONTROL 5502.1 At least thirty (30) days before executing an agreement that will result in the transfer of ownership or control of fifty percent (50%) or more of the ownership interest or common stock of an entity that holds a licen…

5503 CHANGE OF LOCATION OR EXPANSION 5503.1 At least thirty (30) days before executing an agreement that will result in the change of location or expansion of a medical cannabis business, the registrant shall submit to the Board an application for a change of location or expansio…

5600 INSTRUCTIONS TO REGISTRANTS 5600.1 The Board shall develop and furnish to registrants, at the time of issuance of registration, written information describing the laws and regulations applicable to the medical cannabis business's day-to-day operations. 5600.2 Applications sh…

5601 POSTING OF IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENT BY RETAILER AND INTERNET RETAILER 5601.1 The notice required to be posted by the retailer shall state that no person shall be sold medical cannabis who does not produce both: (a) A valid registration card issued by the Board or valid out…

5602 HOURS OF OPERATION, SALE, SERVICE, AND DELIVERY 5602.1 A retailer may operate and sell medical cannabis, and a retailer with a retail delivery endorsement may deliver medical cannabis, on any day and at any time except between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. 5602.2 A l…

5603 LOCKING AND SECURING OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA DURING NON-OPERATING HOURS 5603.1 A registered medical cannabis business shall keep all medical cannabis located on the premises in a separate storage area which is securely closed and locked during all hours when the establishment i…

5604 MANAGER’S APPLICATION 5604.1 In the absence of an owner, a licensed medical cannabis business shall have a Board-approved manager present at the licensed premises during the hours that the licensed medical cannabis business is open. 5604.2 An applicant for a manager’s licens…

5605 DESTRUCTION AND DISPOSAL OF UNUSED OR SURPLUS MEDICAL CANNABIS AND REPORTING THEFT 5605.1 A medical cannabis business shall destroy or dispose of unused or surplus medical cannabis and its by-products by providing it to MPD for destruction. 5605.2 All unused or surplus medic…

5606 NOTICE OF CRIMINAL CONVICTION OF DIRECTOR, OFFICER, MEMBER, INCORPORATOR, AGENT OR EMPLOYEE 5606.1 If a licensed medical cannabis business discovers that any director, officer, member, incorporator, agent, or employee has at any time during their employment been convicted of…

5607 LABELING AND PACKAGING OF MEDICAL CANNABIS 5607.1 No medical cannabis shall be dispensed or distributed to a qualifying patient or caregiver unless the container in which it is distributed bears a legible label, firmly affixed, stating: (a) The name of the cultivation center…

5608 INGESTIBLE ITEMS 5608.1 No medical cannabis business shall produce any cannabis product in an edible form, or other form which is intended to be eaten, drunk, or otherwise consumed orally, unless it has: (a) Prepared the product at a cultivation center facility that meets al…

5609 PERMITTED FORMS OF MEDICAL CANNABIS 5609.1 Dispensaries and cultivation centers may dispense or distribute medical cannabis in any form deemed safe which allows patients to eat, inhale, or otherwise use medical cannabis for medical purposes. Medical cannabis shall be subject…

5610 ELECTRONIC RECORDING SECURITY AND ALARM SYSTEM 5610.1 A medical cannabis business shall be required to operate and maintain in good working order a twenty-four (24) hour, seven (7) days a week, a closed circuit television (CCTV) surveillance system on the premises that compl…

5611 EDUCATIONAL CLASSES AND DEMONSTRATIONS 5611.1 A retailer may offer educational classes and demonstrations to qualifying patients, caregivers, and non-resident qualifying patients upon issuance of an education tasting endorsement. 5611.2 Educational classes and demonstrations…

5612 PRODUCTION OF VALID IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED 5612.1 An internet retailer or retailer shall refuse to sell or deliver medical cannabis to any person who fails to produce a valid medical cannabis patient card issued by ABCA or a nonresident patient card or state-issued document…

5613 TEMPORARY SURRENDER OF REGISTRATION -- SAFEKEEPING 5613.1 A registered medical cannabis business that discontinues its operations for any reason shall surrender its registration to the Board for safekeeping within three (3) calendar days of discontinuing its operations. The …

5614 CO-LOCATION AND INTEGRATION 5614.1 Nothing in this title shall preclude two (2) or more cultivation centers from locating in the same building, provided that they maintain: (a) Separate books and records; and (b) Their own secure and distinct registered premises that is sepa…

5615 SEED-TO-SALE TRACKING 5615.1 A medical cannabis business shall purchase access to the METRC real-time electronic records system. 5615.2 All information required by this section shall be entered into the real-time electronic records system designated in § 5615.1. 5615.3 All i…

5616 SIGN REQUIREMENTS 5616.1 A retailer shall post at its building entrance in a conspicuous place, a sign from the Board that states the following: Minors are precluded from entering the premises unless they are a qualifying patient and are in the presence of a parent or guardi…

5617 OUTDOOR LIGHTING REQUIREMENTS 5617.1 A medical cannabis business shall be required for security purposes to have sufficient lighting outside of the registered business each day between sunset and sunrise that adequately illuminates the medical cannabis business and its immed…

5618 MINIMUM STAFFING LEVELS 5618.1 An internet retailer or retailer shall be staffed with at least two (2) persons during its hours of operation. 5618.2 A cultivation center shall be staffed with at least two (2) persons when employees are present inside of the cultivation cente…

5619 LIMITED ACCESS AREAS 5619.1 Medical cannabis shall only be grown, cultivated, stored, weighed, displayed, packaged, sold, possessed for sale, or tested only in a limited access area under the control of the medical cannabis business. A medical cannabis business shall permit …

5620 MANUFACTURING STANDARDS 5620.1 In the course of producing and growing medical cannabis, a cultivation center or manufacturer is forbidden from using any of the following substances or techniques: (a) Synthetic pesticides (for example defoliants and desiccants, fungicides, in…

5621 TRANSPORT OF MEDICAL CANNABIS 5621.1 A licensed medical cannabis business shall obtain from the Board a transporter license to transport medical cannabis within the District of Columbia to another licensed medical cannabis business if permitted by law. An original transporte…

5622 INVENTORY 5622.1 Each licensed medical cannabis business shall be required to develop, implement, and maintain, on its registered premises, a written real-time inventory control plan, which shall: (a) Establish inventory controls and procedures it will use to conduct invento…

5623 MANUFACTURING RESTRICTIONS AT CULTIVATION CENTERS 5623.1 A cultivation center that does not hold a manufacturer’s license may distribute and produce medical cannabis in the form of pre-rolls and bulk fresh or dried cannabis flower and other cannabis plant material. 5623.2 A …

5624 RETAILER DELIVERY ENDORSEMENT 5624.1 A retailer may apply for a retailer delivery endorsement, which shall authorize curbside pickup and off-site delivery of medical cannabis, medical cannabis products, and paraphernalia to qualifying patients and their caregivers. 5624.2 An…

5625 SAFE-USE TREATMENT FACILITY 5625.1 The holder of a retailer’ license shall be eligible to apply for a Safe-Use Treatment Facility endorsement. 5625.2 An application for a Safe-Use Treatment Facility endorsement shall be filed as a substantial change. 5625.3 An applicant for …

5626 SUMMER GARDEN ENDORSEMENT 5626.1 An applicant for or the holder of a retailer’s license shall be eligible to apply for a Summer Garden if also issued Safe-Use Treatment Facility endorsement. 5626.2 An application for a Summer Garden endorsement shall be filed with the initia…

5627 MANDATORY TRAINING 5627.1 All directors, officers, members, incorporators, agents, employees, and managers shall receive training on the topics required by § 5105 at least once every three (3) years. The licensee shall maintain a written log or record on the licensed premise…

5628 MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT 5628.1 A licensee or applicant who enters into a management agreement with a third-party for the management of a medical cannabis business shall provide the Board with a copy of the agreement within thirty (30) calendar days of execution. 5628.2 Notice o…

5700 SALE, PURCHASE, AND POSSESSION OF MEDICAL CANNABIS 5700.1 A licensed internet retailer or retailer shall not receive or purchase medical cannabis from a source other than a cultivation center or manufacturer licensed in the District of Columbia. 5700.2 It is a violation for …

5701 SALE OF MEDICAL CANNABIS BY CULTIVATION CENTERS 5701.1 A cultivation center shall not be permitted to sell medical cannabis to qualified patients or caregivers. It shall be a violation of this subtitle for a cultivation center to sell medical cannabis to qualifying patients …