The Alcoholic Beverage & Cannabis Control (ABC) Board is an independent body that meets weekly to adjudicate, administer and enforce alcohol and medical cannabis laws. Board members are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the DC Council for a four (4) year term. There may be as many as seven members on the Board, with three members constituting a quorum.
The ABC Board is responsible for:
- Approving all applications for new alcohol and medical cannabis licenses, renewals, transfers of ownership or location, substantial changes, suspensions, revocations, the safekeeping of licenses, and voluntary settlement agreements.
- Enforcing alcohol and medical cannabis laws.
- Issuing new alcohol and medical cannabis regulations and policies.
- Referring violations of the law to the Office of the Attorney General and other legal authorities for investigation and prosecution.
- Overseeing ABCA.
Medical cannabis facility license fees shall be paid annually. The fee for the first year shall be paid within 60 calendar days of Board approval but prior to license issuance. The renewal fee shall be paid on or before the anniversary date of issuance of the license.
It establishes in § 1305, that there shall be two types of manufacturers license based on whether the business uses hazardous or flammable materials as part of an extraction process.
It is established, in Chapter 51, that medical cannabis business licenses shall be issued for 3-year periods.
A medical cannabis business, except for a courier license, shall not locate within three hundred feet (300 ft.) of a preschool, primary or secondary school, or recreation center unless the main entrance to the preschool, primary or secondary school, or recreation center, or the nearest property line of the school or recreation center, is actually on or occupies ground zoned commercial or industrial according to the official atlases of the Zoning Commission of the District of Columbia.
Applications for a new cultivation center, manufacturer, internet retailer, retailer, or courier license shall only be accepted by the Board during an open application period as specified by the Board by publishing a Notice in the D.C. Register. The period selected by the Board shall not be extended.
