WASHINGTON – Authorities have shut down an illegal cannabis business in Northwest D.C., citing it as an imminent threat to public health and safety.

On Nov. 26, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration’s Enforcement Division, with support from the Metropolitan Police Department, executed a Closure Order at Peace in the Air, located at 2118 18th Street NW. 

The first-floor business was operating as an unlicensed cannabis retailer, despite a Cease and Desist Order already in place.

The Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board issued the Closure Order, leading to the business being shuttered and its doors padlocked. Officials said the drastic measure was necessary given the risks posed by the illegal operation.

The shop’s owner, Darel Dawson, says the business had been closed for weeks prior to the raid.

“They banged out a door to an empty building,” Dawson told FOX 5. “If my stuff was still in there, and we were operating a business out of love, I would feel extremely violated.”

City officials confirmed that Peace in the Air had been issued a Cease and Desist Order for selling cannabis without proper licensing. Dawson admitted his business had been warned but expressed frustration with the regulatory process.

“To our knowledge, we weren’t doing anything illegally until we were given a warning,” Dawson said.

The ABCA stated that Dawson failed to comply with the warning, which led to Tuesday’s operation to secure and padlock the premises.

Dawson defended his decision not to pursue licensing under the new regulations.

“I did not avoid the licensing. But when it was time to be licensed, I declined because I don’t think the system was going to benefit the proprietor at all,” he said.

Peace in the Air sold clothing, music, and art alongside cannabis. Dawson expressed relief that no employees were present during the raid but criticized the city’s approach.

“I feel violated for the people. They have to pay hourly for all those police to be there. I feel for the taxpayers. And the other people doing business in this cannabis realm who will probably get violated,” Dawson added.

Dawson can request a hearing before the ABC Board. However, the property owners may face additional requirements before regaining access, including submitting a remediation plan to prevent future illegal cannabis sales on the premises.

The ABC Board also has the authority to fine property owners $10,000 for noncompliance.

The closure of Peace in the Air marks the 14th illegal cannabis operation padlocked since new enforcement powers were granted under the Medical Cannabis Conditional License and Unlicensed Establishment Closure Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2024. 

The law, which took effect on July 15, allows ABCA to take swift action against unlicensed cannabis businesses.

Since the law’s enactment, ABCA has issued 37 Cease and Desist Orders and 96 warning letters to unlicensed operators who failed to apply for a medical cannabis license during the designated application period.

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Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Reid notes that it takes “light and shadow [to] explore the conundrum of bringing new life into the simultaneously beautiful and crumbling world”. She is referring to her experience of being pregnant and giving birth while undertaking a prestigious residency at the storied Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. But it could also serve as a metaphor for Sunday’s life-giving concert at Washington Performing Arts, which opened with her richly textured new orchestral work Body Cosmic.

The modest 28-year-old maestro Klaus Mäkelä was until a few years ago unknown outside his native Finland. Today he is chief conductor designate to both the Royal Concertgebouw and Chicago Symphony Orchestras, two of the world’s most esteemed ensembles, as well as chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic and music director of the Orchestre de Paris (and a busy cellist in his own right). I am generally suspicious of any so-called wunderkind but, as it turns out, Mäkelä’s meteoric rise is not an accident of timing, nor clever career finagling from a press-savvy manager. Leading the Concertgebouw, he here gave a performance that was utterly instinctive and entirely musical.

Reid’s evocative sound-world, by turns evanescent and disturbing, liquid and filmic, was given space to breathe by the Concertgebouw, which has the collective intelligence to create unparalleled sonic subtleties. Rachmaninov’s mighty Symphony No 2 in E Minor was the concert’s second half, and Mäkelä and the Concertgebouw managed to make the ultra-familiar seem as box-fresh as the premiere we had just heard. They did this through sensitivity to phrasing, dynamics and tempi; a lack of complacency or flashiness; and a sense of creative unity that only comes with a willingness to submit to the humility of togetherness.

Between these magnificent offerings was Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No 2 in G Minor, written by the composer in 1935, when he was in exile from his beloved Russia. The soloist was Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili, who possesses ravishing tone, flawless technique and musical elegance. In combination with Mäkelä and the Concertgebouw, she found something raw, terrifying and tender.

The encore was a heartbreaking and heart-mending arrangement by Anders Hillborg of Bach’s “Ich ruf zu dir”. Batiashvili has previously described playing Bach as “something spiritual” — “[he] makes you believe in something.” Well, yes. The audience left the concert hall a bit stunned, a bit changed, a bit remade.

★★★★★

washingtonperformingarts.org

Ojo Sarco, New Mexico

This two-bedroom adobe home sits on 5.56 acres abutting Carson National Forest. Built in 1980 with modern and Spanish elements, the open-plan house features heated concrete floors, arched windows, a circular viga-and-latilla ceiling, a kitchen with polished-sandstone counters, a Mexican-tiled bath, and a second-floor den with a wood-burning stove.

Outside are a patio, meadows, a creek, juniper, piñon, and cottonwood trees, and Sangre de Cristo mountain views; Dixon’s amenities are 5 miles away. $525,000. Victoria Markley, Sotheby’s International Realty-Santa Fe, (505) 927-3229.

Washington, D.C.

The River Park co-op community in southwest D.C. dates to 1962, and this midcentury-modern townhouse was designed by Charles M. Goodman. The four-bedroom home, updated with period-inspired details, has a barrel roof, parquet floors, floor-to-ceiling windows, primary bath with pink fish-scale tiles, and living-room slider to a patio with an outdoor movie screen.

Shared amenities include a pool, gym, woodshop, art studio, and green space; the metro and shopping are just blocks away. $549,000. Avery Boyce, Compass, (202) 422-3081.

Atlanta, Georgia

Midtown’s 1910 Palmer and Phelan building is walking distance to Piedmont Park, Georgia Tech, arts venues, restaurants, and shopping. This open-plan, one-bedroom condo unit features high ceilings, exposed brick, and wide plank wood floors; open main area with living room, dining space, chef’s kitchen, and French doors to a sunroom; primary suite with cedar closet, rustic vessel sink, and oversize tiled shower; and potential second bedroom.

Ownership includes two parking spots. $595,000. Jared Sapp, Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty, (404) 668-7233.

Twentynine Palms, California

This 1958 10-acre compound in Wonder Valley has uninterrupted desert vistas and is minutes by car from the 29 Palms Shopping District and Joshua Tree National Park. The updated two-bedroom main house has an open layout, scalloped ceilings, finished concrete floors, walls of windows, a living room with black-brick fireplace, and an eat-in kitchen with quartz counters, blue-tiled backsplash, and walnut cabinets.

The native-landscaped property includes an outdoor woodstove, an art studio, and a vintage Airstream. $550,000. Niko Esposito, Paul Kaplan Group Palm Springs, (626) 755-3656.

Greenwood, Maine

Set in the foothills of the western Maine mountains, this three-bedroom cabin is 15 minutes from the Mount Abram Ski Area and a short drive from Bethel. Built in 1930, the home features exposed wood posts and beams and a wood staircase, a living room with a wood-burning stove, an updated eat-in kitchen, and a windowed dining area.

On the 1.09-acre lot are a sauna and hot tub, front porch, side deck, yard, and mature trees. $500,000. Susan DuPlessis, Mountain Real Estate Company, (207) 400-7886.

Chesterfield, Missouri

This 1964 midcentury-modern home in a St. Louis suburb is part of the Four Seasons Country Club community. The three-bedroom house has the original parquet floors, exposed beams, roofline windows, and retro paneled walls; a vaulted living room with original stone fireplace; a large kitchen; a breakfast room; and a lower-level rec space and bonus rooms.

Outside are landscaped front and back yards and a deck; the community offers nine-hole golf and a saltwater pool. $494,000. Liz Mull, Coldwell Banker Realty-Gundaker, (314) 403-4731.

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