How to check a DC medical cannabis retailer

1. Get a registration first

To buy from a licensed retailer, you need a medical cannabis registration and a government photo ID.¹ Adults 21 and older may self-certify on an ABCA form that they use cannabis for medical reasons. They don’t need a doctor’s recommendation.²

• DC residents: registration is free and lasts two years. After you apply, you get a temporary digital registration that works right away for 90 days. Patients 20 and younger need a practitioner’s recommendation, and minors need an adult caregiver.¹
• Visitors: adults 21 and older can buy a short-term digital registration. ABCA lists fees of $10 to $100, depending on how long it lasts.¹
• Medical card from another state: if you are 21 or older and your state’s program is on ABCA’s list, you can show that card and a photo ID instead.³

You register through ABCA’s online customer portal.¹ ABCA: patient registration

2. Check the retailer on ABCA’s list

1. Go to ABCA’s list of licensed medical cannabis retailers . ABCA says only licensed retailers appear on its map.⁴
2. Find the business by name. Stores are listed by ward with their street address. Online-only internet retailers are listed separately.⁴
3. Check that the address matches the store you are in. If you can’t find the business, don’t buy there.
4. At the store, look for the paper ABCA license on display. An internet retailer must show its license on its homepage.⁴

Staff must ask for both your registration and a government photo ID before they sell to you. Retailers may open between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.⁴

Delivery: licensed retailers with a delivery endorsement, and internet retailers, may deliver to DC addresses. They may not deliver to federal or DC government property or school grounds. The driver must check your ID and ABCA registration before handing over your order.⁵

Purchase limit: up to 8 ounces of dried cannabis in 30 days, or 240 grams of concentrate for patients 21 and older, or products with a combined 600,000 mg of THC.⁶

3. Check the label

The label must show the grower and the date it was made, the retailer, the amount, the cannabinoid profile including THC, other ingredients, the date sold, and your name and registration number. It must say “Contains Cannabis. Keep out of the reach of children.”⁷

Products must pass lab testing before they are sold, including tests for potency, microbes, mycotoxins, heavy metals, pesticides and leftover solvents.⁸ Licensed does not mean risk-free.

Warning signs

• A shop that isn’t on ABCA’s list. A business that sells cannabis, or trades it as part of a sale, without an ABCA license is an unlicensed establishment under DC law.⁹ ABCA and police padlocked 113 illegal cannabis businesses from July 2024 to June 2026.¹⁰
• No ID or registration check. Licensed retailers must ask for both.⁴
• Packaging with cartoons, toys or animals, or the word “candy.” DC law bans packaging and labels that appeal to people under 21.¹¹
• Edibles over 20 mg of THC per piece or 200 mg per package, unless you have a practitioner’s recommendation.⁷

If something doesn’t look right

You can report a licensed retailer or an illegal cannabis shop to ABCA online, or by phone at 202-442-4423 , 24 hours a day. You can stay anonymous, but then investigators can’t contact you for more details. Have the business name, its address with the quadrant (for example, NW), and the date and time ready. ABCA says it responds within 24 hours.¹³

File a complaint with ABCA · How to report a problem