The annual medical cannabis sales tax holiday will take place between Saturday, April 15-Monday, April 24, 2023.
During the holiday, the six (6) percent sales tax on all medical cannabis products, excluding paraphernalia, purchased from DC’s seven licensed Retailers will not be assessed.
The sales tax holiday was introduced in DC in 2022 and made an annual event by the Medical Cannabis Amendment Act of 2022, signed by Mayor Muriel Bowser, which became effective on March 22, 2023.
Today, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis (ABC) Board also announced the following:
- Extending the patient and caregiver registration fee waiver for District residents through August 10, 2023. The District’s waiver of the $100.00 fee for new and renewal patient and caregiver registrations was set to expire on April 13, 2023.
- Approving the use of written healthcare practitioner recommendations by Virginia patients to purchase medical cannabis and medical cannabis products from DC licensed Retailers starting on April 15, 2023. Recommendations must be unexpired and on the Commonwealth of Virginia-issued form for medical cannabis healthcare practitioner recommendations and accompanied by a valid Commonwealth of Virginia-issued photo ID with a matching name. U.S. Passports, student photo IDs, and other similar documents do not qualify.
This modification was made to address the Commonwealth of Virginia’s decision, beginning on July 1, 2022, to allow Virginia patients to purchase medical cannabis from a dispensary with an unexpired valid written certification form issued by a registered healthcare practitioner.
Alternatively, Virginia patients that are at least 21 years of age can continue to register for a temporary patient registration that is valid for 30 days. This option is available to all non-DC residents, including international visitors.
Lastly, patients and caregivers are reminded that valid registrations for District residents resumed being required on Saturday, April 1. Applicants can reregister online and may immediately purchase using the digital registration that is provided via email upon successful submission.
Additional program information is available at abca.dc.gov. Inquiries may be directed to [email protected].