There's been a gray area in the laws around selling cannabis in D.C. since residents voted to allow people and shops to gift cannabis.
In July, the D.C. Council passed legislation clarifying the law, and the District has been cracking down on the stores officials say are illegally selling cannabis. As that enforcement continues, police say some of the shuttered and padlocked stores were found to have other illegal drugs.
"We recovered amounts of cannabis, as well as, in one case, suspected heroin, mushrooms," said Jeffery Carroll, the executive assistant chief of police.
"We've had a couple of locations -- almost all of them, actually -- where there's been some cannabis that has been laced with amphetamines. So that is something common that we're seeing," Carroll said.
That can cause harm to buyers visiting the illegally operating stores, he said.
"It just kind of goes to the danger of these locations, because people may think -- they may not know that they're going to an unlicensed establishment, they may think they're getting regulated cannabis. And now, you know, there's amphetamines mixed in with that that they're unaware of," Carroll said.
While D.C. has several medical cannabis dispensaries which are legal to operate, it is illegal to sell recreational cannabis. That's because Republicans in Congress have blocked the District from regulating recreational sales.
However, using recreational cannabis is legal in D.C., and D.C. residents do not need a doctor's recommendation to buy cannabis at medical dispensaries.
In July, the D.C. Council passed legislation authorizing the crackdown on illegal shops, as well as a process for the illegal businesses to become licensed.
Councilmember Charles Allen told News4 more than 100 illegal cannabis shops operate across the District.
"D.C. has gone to great lengths to create a pathway for businesses to get licensed, to come into a legal framework," Allen, council member for Ward 6, said. "And that's been taking place for the last year-and-a-half, two years. But for businesses that want to continue to operate illegally without a license, we've got to have enforcement."
The Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA) has been issuing cease-and-desist notices to businesses, warning them to come into compliance with D.C. law or risk being shut down.
Since July 15, when the new enforcement began, 26 cease-and-desist orders have been issued and five establishments have been closed by D.C. police and ABCA.
Another 25 establishments were closed because of other types of enforcements, such as by the Department of Health.
"If you're going to remain illegal, if you're going to remain unlicensed, I think the message is pretty loud and clear here that ABCA and the city is going to be coming after you," Allen said.
Police have arrested three people in connection to the closures of the illegal shops.
