DC Council Advises to Disregard the Medicinal Marijuana Prescription and Simply Come and Buy It.

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By Hunter Dublin | July 14, 2022

The D.C. Council overwhelmingly enacted emergency legislation Tuesday allowing any D.C. Residents 21 and older to declare—without a doctor's assistance — that they require marijuana for medicinal reasons and must purchase it from one of the city's seven approved medical marijuana establishments.

"I'm all in." "They're grownups," said Linda Green, owner of one of the shops, Anacostia Organics. She sells various marijuana and THC items, ranging from smoking buds to pain salves.

"We would still require a self-attestation stating that you have a medical need and require medicinal cannabis," she said, adding, "we don't inquire what that need is because it's not our business."

That is essentially the viewpoint of Mary Cheh, one of the bill's proponents on the D.C. Council.

"It says you may self-certify that you need the marijuana for medicinal grounds," Cheh explained. "Of course, there could be some wrangling there, but we're banking on people, to be honest."

The scores of illicit marijuana "gifting establishments" that have sprung up are putting a strain on tax-paying businesses like Green's.

They claim to sell clients a postcard or other low-cost goods for $50 and then "give" the buyer $50 in marijuana. They pay no taxes, and there is fear that because their items are so much cheaper, many people turn to them. Concerns have also been circulating that the procedure of becoming certified to acquire marijuana lawfully entails so much red tape that many citizens simply ignore it and shop at illicit establishments.