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Compromise Amendment Addresses Community Concerns, Prevents Derailment of Voter-Approved Program
Washington, D.C. – Today, Councilmember David A. Catania (At-Large), Chairman of the Committee on Health, successfully negotiated a compromise amendment to Councilmember Vincent Orange’s (At-Large) “Medical Marijuana Cultivation Center and Dispensary License Emergency Act of 2012” that addressed both community concerns of overconcentration of cultivation centers and the threat of potential disruption and delay of the District’s voter-approved medical marijuana program.
“Every day, District residents suffering from deadly diseases, such as HIV/AIDS and cancer, wait for our regulatory process to be completed so that they can obtain medicine that can improve their quality of life and ease their suffering,” said Councilmember Catania. “I thank my At-Large colleague Mr. Orange for embracing the compromise position that allows the approval process that is already underway to be completed in a manner that minimizes delays and is respectful of the community’s input.”
Councilmember Orange’s emergency and temporary legislation initially called for no more than five (5) cultivation centers per Ward and would prohibit any dispensaries in a Ward that had reached the cap on cultivation centers. The compromise amendment places the cultivation center cap at six (6) per Ward and no more than one (1) dispensary in Wards with five (5) cultivation centers.
On January 5, 2012, the Department of Health (DOH) sent notices to ANC Commissioners in Wards 5 and 7 identifying medical marijuana cultivation centers that had achieved sufficiently high provisional scores in the license approval process. Largely due to zoning requirements, six of the seven applications that received high provisional scores are located in Ward 5.
“It is imperative that we as a legislature do not take actions that upend the settled expectations of those organizations seeking to become responsible members of the medical marijuana business community,” added Councilmember Catania.
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