25 Unlicensed Cannabis Retailers Closed in D.C. Crackdown

27 February 2025

In a sweeping crackdown on Washington, D.C.’s gray-market cannabis industry, Attorney General Brian Schwalb announced that 25 unlicensed cannabis shops have been shut down over the past six months. These enforcement actions, carried out in collaboration with the District’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA) and the Metropolitan Police Department, targeted retailers selling unregulated cannabis products, many of which tested positive for dangerous substances including amphetamines and psilocybin.

The closures stem from a broader initiative to bring illicit “gifting” shops—businesses exploiting a legal loophole allowing the transfer of cannabis as a “gift” with the purchase of unrelated items—into the regulated medical marijuana market. Despite ample opportunity to comply under legislation passed by the D.C. Council in 2023, many shops declined to seek licensure. The result has been a coordinated campaign involving cease-and-desist orders, civil enforcement actions, and, in some cases, criminal investigations yielding weapons, narcotics, and large amounts of unregulated cannabis products.