While new medical cannabis dispensary locations in D.C. are popping up across the city, growers and manufacturers have been left behind despite going through the licensing process months before retailers.
Over 120 businesses in both manufacturing and cultivation categories applied last year, but not a single new manufacturer or cultivator has opened in the District. In contrast, four new medical dispensaries have opened and seven are licensed and pending opening.
In June, DC XTRACTS LLC became the first new operator to receive a license, but they still have not opened. Applicants are struggling to find locations that are appropriately zoned and large enough to secure investors.
D.C. Council extended the 12-month conditional license period by a year last month, and the D.C. Department of Buildings (DOB) zoning released guidance in May that expanded where Type 1 medical manufacturer and cultivation licensees can operate, addressing the lack of real estate available. This zoning expansion did not effect Type 2 cultivators or manufacturers.
"With real estate inventory already being extremely limited for [cultivational and manufacturer] licensees, the PDR policy made it even more improbable that a manufacturer or cultivation center license applicant would be able to identify compliant property for their operations," lawyer Meredith Kinner of Kinner and McGowan, a D.C. cannabis firm, said.
Read more at