Medical Marijuana Moves Forward in Ward 5

27 applications submitted for cultivation centers in Ward 5

September 30 was the deadline to apply for a license to cultivate medical marijuana in the District of Columbia. 22 entities submitted applications.

Each applicant requested 1-2 licenses, for a total of 28 license requests. Of the 28 license requests, 27 are proposed for locations in Ward 5. The District will award a maximum of 10 cultivation licenses citywide by the end of January. Each cultivation license allows the holder to grow up to 95 marijuana plants.

The applicants are all corporations or limited liability companies (LLCs) with the exception of one applicant who is an individual. All of the corporations or LLCs applying for cultivation licenses were created less than a year before the application deadline. Almost half of the entities applying for licenses were created less than 30 days before the deadline.

Little public information about the applicants is available other than the first and last names of the shareholders or partners. The D.C. Department of Health (DOH) has refused to release the applications to the public.

To the extent that information about the 22 applicants can be gathered, their backgrounds appear to fall into several categories. Three applicants are providers of medical marijuana in other parts of the country where medical marijuana is legal. They are Abatin Wellness Center, Alternative Solutions, and Compassion Centers of America.

Five applicants appear to consist of local lawyers and entrepreneurs who came together to pursue this new business opportunity. They are Delta Nine, District Growers, Eagle Organics, Kahentakon, and Medicinal Marijuana Company.

One applicant, VentureForth LLC, appears to come from a patient advocacy background.

Three applicants are active in selling liquor in the District. Holistic Remedies and Organic Wellness are owned by Jonathan and Richard Genderson, who also own Schneider’s Liquor Store on Capitol Hill. National Health Center is owned by D’Mazana Lumukanda who operates the Brookland Café.

The remaining applicants come from out of state and there is little to no public information about them.

According to DOH, a panel of agency representatives will complete an “initial review” of the applications by November 28. The panel will award each application up to 200 points based on a number of criteria, including “suitability” of the proposed facility, staffing plan, security plan, cultivation plan, and business plan.

Applicants awarded more than 150 points will proceed to the next step, which requires posting public notice at the proposed location. Affected Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) will have until January 3rd to submit comments on applications within their boundaries.

The panel will award applicants up to 50 additional points based on ANC comments on the suitability of the proposed location, whether the facility would create an “overconcentration” of facilities in the ward, and whether the facility is too close to substance abuse centers or halfway houses.

According to Brendan Williams-Kief, deputy chief of staff for At-large Councilmember David Catania, it is up to each ANC to decide what constitutes an “overconcentration” of facilities. Mr. Williams-Kief said no definition of overconcentration was provided in the legislation because it is a subjective measure that each community must decide on its own.

The panel will forward its final recommendations to the Director of the Department of Health by mid-January.

It is unclear what response, if any, the Federal government will have to the operation of medical marijuana facilities in the District. The Department of Justice has been cracking down on medical marijuana facilities in California and other states, forcing facilities to close and in some instances confiscating land where medical marijuana is grown.

In July, Deputy Attorney General James Cole sent a memo to all U.S. Attorneys providing guidance on enforcement of federal drug laws. The memo said it was a poor use of resources to enforce drug laws against people who grow marijuana for personal medical use, but it was a priority to enforce drug laws against those who grow marijuana for profit.

Bill Miller, spokesperson for Ronald Machen, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said Mr. Machen is reviewing the guidance and continuing to study the issue.

According to DOH, the deadline for submission of applications for dispensary licenses was November 15. The District will award a maximum of five dispensary licenses by March 21, 2012.