Washington, D.C. Cannabis Company Sues City, Demands Return of $750,000

A Washington, D.C. hashish firm known as Mr. Good Guys DC lately sued town for seizing greater than $750,000 in money throughout raids that occurred in 2021.

Mr. Good Guys DC co-owners Damion West and Gregory Wimsatt search justice for the cash the police seized. “I’m going to be a voice for the individuals who don’t have a voice,” West advised News4. “I’m not going to face for it. We now have achieved nothing mistaken. We’re working in a grey area that they created, and the one factor we wish is our a reimbursement.”

“Like, the place is the justice? They arrive in, kick in our door, raid us, you already know take our cash,” Wimsatt mentioned.

In August 2021, police raided two Mr. Good Guys DC dispensaries. The lawsuit describes the raid in larger element, displaying how the police took “$67,000 and destroyed two ATMs on the store whereas looking out the Ninth Avenue location. A spokesperson for DC’s Metropolitan Police Dept. (MPD) mentioned three individuals had been arrested on the retailer and charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession with intent to distribute a managed substance. The U.S. lawyer’s workplace for the District of Columbia selected to not prosecute those that had been arrested,” the lawsuit reads.

The case towards Mr. Good Guys DC was dropped, however the co-owners by no means acquired their money again. “Defendant District of Columbia’s D.C. police (MPD) routinely and unlawfully holds money seized from people who’ve been arrested—lots of whom are by no means charged with a criminal offense—for months and even years previous the purpose the place the federal government might need any persevering with professional curiosity in retaining mentioned money whereas offering no course of to problem that retention,” the lawsuit states.

“It’s been near about $800,000 in product and money. What we particularly requested for on this case was simply the money. That’s not together with lack of damages in product. We’ve had different conditions the place they’ve really banned us from our location,” Wimsatt defined.

The co-owners’ lawyer, Charles Walton, advised The Washington Submit that the primary aim of the lawsuit is to retrieve the seized money. “D.C. police did not return the seized cash after investigations concluded and associated prison expenses had been withdrawn or dismissed,” Walton mentioned. “Our aim is to have them produce the data related to the chain of custody of that cash, and to simply return it.”

Hashish dispensaries function in a grey space in Washington D.C. Grownup-use hashish is authorized, as voters permitted it again in 2014, and possession, residence cultivation, and gifting is allowed. Because of the “Harris rider,” (named in reference to Rep. Andy Harris) a Congressional rider that has been included within the 2014 omnibus invoice prevents gross sales from being authorized. To work round this, native dispensaries like Mr. Good Guys DC promote non-cannabis objects and prospects obtain hashish as a “reward” with buy.

In August 2022, Washington, D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration introduced that it might be inspecting unlicensed hashish companies. By September, the inspections had been delayed, creating extra uncertainty about the way forward for these companies.

Fortunately, medical hashish sufferers have remained a spotlight for Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who signed a invoice in July to permit sufferers to self-certify themselves for a hashish prescription, fairly than ready for a physician’s advice. “We now have made it a precedence through the years to construct a extra patient-centric medical marijuana program and this laws builds on these efforts,” Bowser mentioned. “We all know that by bringing extra medical marijuana sufferers into the authorized market in a well timed method and doing extra to degree the enjoying discipline for licensed medical marijuana suppliers, we will shield residents, assist native companies, and supply readability to the group.”

On October 20, Bowser additionally signed a invoice that enables vacationers to self-certify for medical hashish as properly. With this new legislation, vacationers could get hold of a 30-day registration to buy from dispensaries once they go to the nation’s capital.