Anne Holland: 35 FAQs on Winning a Washington DC Medical Marijuana Application

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By Anne Holland

Folks scrambling to get pot cultivation and dispensary license submissions ready for Washington DC can take a breather – the deadline has been extended to Friday September 30th.   In the meantime, DC’s Department of Health has posted a handy list of answers to the top 35 questions would-be applicants are asking, including (paraphrasing is ours):

Q: Can I grow pot in my basement?

A: Nope.  Must be in a commercially-zoned facility.

Q: If my license application is rejected, can I try again?

A: See you in DC Superior Court.

Q: What format should my application be in?

A:  Print in 12 point typeface, collected in binders with tabs. 10 printed copies and one on a labeled flash drive or CD.  Only one printed copy has to have original signatures, including one from a licensed architect.

Q. What should my written “closure” plan be about?  Locking the dispensary doors each night?

A: No, it’s what you’d do if you are forced to close down operations entirely for a while or forever.

Q:  Do I have to live in DC to apply?

A: Nope.

Q: If I tell you all about my cultivation experience, as required, I will incriminate myself under federal law.  Do I have to?

A:  There’s a pending lawsuit on that… but in the meantime, yes you do.

Q: How many registered patients are there in DC?

A: No one will be registered until after this licensing process is done.

Q: The regs require us to hand over un-used pot to the DC police for destruction.  How will that work?

A: We don’t know, the cops are still thinking that through.

Click here for the complete FAQs from DC.

Anne Holland is publisher of Medical Marijuana Business Daily. A 20-year B2B publishing veteran, her career has taken her into content areas including media, defense, aviation, and many more. She heads up Anne Holland Ventures Inc., a B2B publishing and professional education firm whose experts create content, events, and courses that help businesses grow.