WASHINGTON — Mayor Muriel Bowser signed into law the Medical Marijuana Patient Access Extension Emergency Amendment Act of 2022, creating D.C.’s first medical cannabis sales tax holiday, on Feb. 11.
The holiday will start on April 15 and end on April 24. During the 10-day sales tax holiday, medical cannabis products purchased at any of D.C.’s seven licensed dispensaries will be exempt from the 6% sales tax.
The emergency act, which is in full effect, also permits the issuance of patient and caregiver registrations valid for two years — doubling the standard issuance period of one year — through Sept. 30, 2022.
Previously adopted emergency rulemaking waives registration fees ($100 for standard registrations, $25 for reduced rate registrations) through April 24 and allows D.C. patients whose registrations expired on or after March 1, 2020, to continue to purchase medical cannabis at licensed dispensaries until Sept. 30, 2022.
Lastly, the act permits D.C. residents 65 years of age and older to self-certify that they will use cannabis for medical purposes in lieu of including a recommendation from their healthcare practitioner with their registration application as is required for all other applicants. The self-certification form is available online.
To further assist qualifying seniors to obtain their patient registration, ABRA will host “Senior Week” from Feb. 22-25 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily. Walk-in applicants with completed applications will receive a digital and physical registration during their visit. Assistance completing applications will also be provided as needed.
“Senior Week will provide qualifying patients 65 years of age and older with the option to obtain a two-year registration card at no cost prior to the start of the medical cannabis sales tax holiday on April 15. We appreciate the steps taken by the D.C. Council to ease the burdens for qualifying patients to access medical cannabis a result of this emergency legislation,” said ABRA Director Fred Moosally.
Residents interested in securing their patient and/or caregiver registration, may do so online, by mail, or in-person at ABRA’s office every Thursday through April 28 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. ABRA’s office is located at 2000 14th Street NW, Suite 400 South. Additional details are available on ABRA’s website.
