Medical Cannabis Retailer Craft Preparation Endorsement Act of 2025
This bill would amend the District of Columbia’s medical cannabis law to create a new “craft preparation endorsement” for holders of medical cannabis retailer licenses. The endorsement would allow eligible retailers to prepare certain medical cannabis products on-site at their licensed premises for sale to qualifying patients and caregivers, including edibles such as baked goods, beverages, chocolates, and confections, topical products such as lotions and ointments, and prerolls. The bill also defines “preroll” for purposes of the medical cannabis code.
The legislation sets operational and product-safety rules for endorsed retailers. Products must be prepared, tested, packaged, and labeled under applicable law and mayoral rules; they must be shelf-stable; and endorsed holders may not make transdermal patches or use certain extraction methods or hazardous gases. The bill limits sales to qualifying patients and caregivers, restricts deliveries to holders that also have a delivery endorsement, and bars sales to retailers, internet retailers, manufacturers, and other wholesale or resale entities. It also limits the amount of floor space and inventory that may be devoted to craft preparation and requires odor control and other nuisance protections.
The bill would amend the Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1999, adding a new statutory section governing craft preparation endorsements and expanding the regulatory framework for medical cannabis retailers in the District. It would give the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board authority to approve and issue these endorsements subject to the bill’s conditions, while also incorporating mayoral rulemaking and existing testing, packaging, and labeling requirements. The measure would affect medical cannabis retailers, qualifying patients, caregivers, and related license categories such as manufacturers, delivery endorsement holders, and safe-use treatment facility endorsement holders.
The available record suggests a generally supportive or routine regulatory posture around the bill. The Mayor transmitted the proposal for Council consideration, and the Attorney General’s office previously reviewed an earlier draft and found it legally sufficient, which indicates administrative support and no identified legal barrier at that stage. No committee transcript or vote record is provided, so there is no evidence in the supplied materials of organized opposition or divided sentiment.
The main policy issues appear to be the scope and limits of on-site cannabis product preparation. Potential points of contention include whether retailers should be allowed to make edibles, topicals, and prerolls at all; how tightly production should be restricted to shelf-stable products and small storage quantities; and whether the prohibitions on extraction, hazardous gases, and transdermal patches are sufficiently protective. Another likely issue is the bill’s narrow market structure, which limits sales to patients and caregivers and prohibits wholesale or resale distribution, potentially affecting retailers, manufacturers, and delivery operators differently.