Is DC finally going to legalize weed?
The Harris Rider rears its head again in one of the strangest "state" markets
Max Blickstein reports and opines from the Delmarva cannabis industry.
Is Congress finally seeing the light on the Harris Rider?
Last week, Rep. Dave Joyce, a Republican congressman from Ohio and the chair of the House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Subcommittee proposed removing the Harris Rider from the fiscal year 2025 omnibus spending bill. For those unaware, the Harris Rider is the main obstacle preventing DC from spending taxes on a recreational legal market—in other words, it’s the reason why DC doesn’t have legal recreational weed.
In 2022, House Democrats used removing the Harris Rider as a bargaining chip, and cannabis advocates like me assumed that Democrats would keep doing so every year until Republicans decided just to let it slide.
While it's a significant step that the proposal has made past the FSGG, it is essential to remember the history of the Harris Rider being used for political leverage. The proposal’s fate is uncertain, and whether it will successfully navigate the Byzantine and often unpredictable legislative journey is unclear.
The logical progression of what happens after this vote is more complex. According to Marijuana Moment, this FSGG language doesn’t cover federal prosecutions of DOJ probes, and the wording on banking harkens back to Cole Memorandum double negatives that are worded in a way that prevents federal law enforcement agencies from spending money to prosecute financial institutions. The language doesn’t offer much in the way of protections, just some basic assurances the government is tired of spending its cash on enforcing cannabis, which, however true that may be, also means the industry is likely to see discrimination from payment processors still.
The FSGG subcommittee is just one step of a multi-step process for the bill to become law. It has to be made out by the Appropriations Committee and then approved by the House and Senate, including reconciliation between different versions of the budgets in the bill. And then, after all of that, maybe it will hit President Biden’s desk.
Though the earliest these changes happen is Jan. 1, 2025, the bill, as currently written, is quite predatory to DC residents. It includes items that infringe on reproductive healthcare, banning needle exchange, allowing for open carry of firearms in DC and the WMATA system, and prohibiting non-citizens from voting in DC elections, none of which would be up to Congress if DC were a state.
While we can hope the bill's predatory points don’t make it out of committee or past a House vote, instances like these are usually where the Harris Rider gets used as a bargaining chip. And to keep it very real, people in DC care more about the other protections and freedoms than we want legal recreational weed.
DC has had medical cannabis self-certification since 2022, and the data shows that despite the patient population doubling between April 2022 and April 2023, sales only spiked about 20%. Comparing April 2023 to April 2024, there was an 8% decrease in patient participation and a roughly 14% contraction in sales. To me, this shows that DC’s program lost its momentum, and Maryland’s sales numbers suggest that some of the folks who used to drive across the border for weed don’t do that anymore.
Mayor Bowser has made clear through her actions that she wants to keep catering to the large local operators like District Cannabis, Abatin, Capital City (Columbia) Care, and hero-that-lived-long-enough AltSol. Despite the new Tier 1 licenses awarded that allow up to 10,000 ft2 of canopy under the MCAA, advocates are still concerned that these medical producers won’t be able to remain competitive in the interstate commerce Schedule III fever dream. Many license awardees have since pulled out of the process after recognizing that there’s not much left for them after these bigger operators–all of whom have become regional brands—took their eight-year head start.
While many of us DC enthusiasts are excited at the prospect of more pathways to our favorite operators operating legally for everyone to enjoy, we also recognize that this is just one step in a staircase similar in enormity to the one that leads up to the Capitol. Just like any other surprisingly positive piece of political pot progress, we remain hopeful that it will go our way while also recognizing that this is likely just another chapter in the book of taxation without representation.
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What I’m smoking lately: Wildland Cannabis Jelly Donutz
Honestly, this is more aptly titled: “Things I have smoked lately that are most definitely 100% gone.”
I was lucky to be graced with a delivery from deep in the Mendo woods a few months ago. The weed is grown by WildLand Cannabis, which is just east of Covelo. Specifically, it is grown near the Black Butte River on the south-facing slope of Anthony Ridge. The sungrown Jelly Rancher x White Runtz buds (among others) are tended in living soil with all-native and natural inputs.
The genetics for this cultivar, specifically, are from Humboldt Seed Co. It’s candy, it’s gas, and it’s also a strain that’s trichome-heavy, so it makes a beautiful washer that tests high in THC. I found the high to be energetic, euphoric, and physically heavy. It’s mid-afternoon hiking or water hole-finding weed for the experienced; for everyone else, this is an excellent cultivar to spark up alongside a true crime documentary.
Weed trend I am enjoying: Ice water/bubble hash in joints
Putting hash in joints is by no means a new thing, but inserting bubble hash, specifically, has become trendy in legal weed pre-rolls, and I couldn’t be happier. The aforementioned WildLand has a gorgeous version, as do 22Red and many other growers; those are the ones I have recently tried.
I also tried THC Design’s version, the brand’s first, which I saved for an evening when I could really savor it. The LA-based indoor brand infused one gram of their Crescendo strain into a pre-roll with Crescendo hash; “no shake, no sugar leaf, just 100% unmilled flower for optimal quality,” claims a press release for the joint.
It was delicious, and the quality checked out. The smoke hung low, as hash smoke should. If you encounter it in the wild, you should snag one for a special occasion.
On the delivery menu: Coming soon to Cannabitch is an inside look at a beautiful cannabis travel book; the prettiest luxury accessories collection available; weed and its place in romance novels; the weed scene in prison; a Father’s Day gifting guide; a new fortune telling column for the cannabis industry; musings on ongoing legislation; essays and art; and plenty more coming this summer.
One last snap before we part: Did you read my husband’s investigation in WIRED? It took him and staff reporter Dhruv Mehrotra a year to complete and revealed that a suburban city outside San Diego is the first to introduce a drone surveillance policing program. It’s worth a read to see a look at our new future. Sweet dreams!
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