House Passes Bill To Keep Blocking Washington, D.C. From Legalizing Marijuana Sales

House passes bill to keep blocking Washington, D.C. marijuana sales

Washington, D.C. marijuana sales—the phrase tastes like a promise that never quite makes it to the table. This week, the U.S. House signed the tab on a sprawling appropriations package for Fiscal Year 2026, and tucked inside is the same old rider that keeps the District from opening a legal recreational cannabis market. The vote wasn’t close—341-79—and the message was plain: Congress still holds the keys to D.C.’s cannabis future. The bill bundles Financial Services and General Government with foreign affairs spending, but the headline for the D.C. cannabis market is continuity, not change. It keeps cannabis taxation, marijuana policy reform, and any legal cannabis revenue dreams firmly on ice in the nation’s capital, even as voters there greenlit possession and home grow years ago. You can smell the contradiction from a mile away.

A rider with teeth—and a loophole shaped like Schedule III

The controlling language is familiar, and sharp. No federal funds can move to “legalize or otherwise reduce penalties” for any Schedule I substance. No District funds can be used to legalize or reduce penalties for recreational use, either. The rider also name-checks “any tetrahydrocannabinols derivative,” a catch-all that sounds expansive and definitive until you realize federal law doesn’t actually define that phrase. Translation: the rule is rigid, but its borders are fuzzy. Here’s the twist. If cannabis moves to Schedule III, that “Schedule I” lock on D.C.’s retail market might spring open, at least in part. Nonpartisan analysts have already suggested rescheduling could let the District authorize commercial sales, regulate the market, and even levy marijuana taxes, though the THC-derivatives clause could still spark new legal chess matches. Meanwhile, the Drug Enforcement Administration says the rescheduling appeal process is still pending, even after a presidential order to finalize Schedule III. And on the other side of the Capitol, the fight continues: see how the Senate is trying to keep the brakes on with GOP Senators File Amendment To Block Trump From Rescheduling Marijuana. No matter your politics, the upshot for the cannabis industry impact is the same—uncertainty is the house special, and it’s always served hot.

School buffers, local warnings, and the city caught in the middle

Alongside the rider, House appropriators wagged a finger at D.C. over basic geography: federal law enhances penalties for cannabis distribution within 1,000 feet of schools, colleges, and playgrounds. It’s a reminder that, even if the city dared to color outside the lines, federal penalties would lurk in the margins. This is the capital’s reality—voters approved legalization for possession and home cultivation, but the retail side remains a gray-market bazaar of “gifts,” pop-ups, and whispered addresses. Consumer safety gets outsourced to vibes and Instagram. If you wanted a case study in how federal marijuana policy can sustain illicit cannabis markets, look no further than the blocks around North Capitol Street, where the law is a Rube Goldberg machine and everyone pretends it makes sense. For those tracking the moving parts, here’s the bill’s practical footprint in brief:

• House vote: 341-79, advancing a package that again blocks D.C. from legalizing adult-use sales.
• Key rider: No federal or District funds to legalize or reduce penalties for Schedule I substances; added ambiguity around “tetrahydrocannabinols derivative.”
• Proximity warning: Enhanced federal penalties within 1,000 feet of schools and other child-focused spaces.
• Rescheduling backdrop: Schedule III could rewire what’s possible in D.C., but litigation and agency process loom.
• Separate spending action: protections for state medical marijuana programs persist, even as Congress drops ideas to block rescheduling from that vehicle.

Illicit grows, geopolitics, and the search for a villain

The bill’s report also orders a rapid review of PRC-linked criminal syndicates operating illegal drug and money laundering schemes in the United States, with specific nods to Maine, California, and Oregon. It doesn’t say “marijuana,” but everyone in the room knows what’s on the whiteboard: clandestine cannabis grows, shell companies, cash sloshing through the shadows. Whether this sharpens law enforcement or fuels a new round of xenophobic panic depends on the execution—and the data. The bigger truth is messier: fragmented laws breed fragmented markets, and fragmented markets breed opportunists. States are improvising while the feds conduct through a cracked baton. New Jersey is trying to build bridges across state lines with New Jersey Marijuana Businesses Could Engage In Interstate Commerce Under Senate President’s New Bill. Up north, the reform frontier widens beyond cannabis—read New Hampshire Lawmakers Take Up Bipartisan Bills To Legalize Psilocybin For Medical Use. And when voters try to move the chains, the referees can still throw flags, as in Ohio Attorney General Rejects Cannabis Referendum Petition, Saying It’s ‘Misleading’. This is the American drug policy bazaar in 2026: a little progress here, a little backslide there, and every aisle has a different set of rules.

What D.C.’s stalemate really means for the cannabis economy

Freezing Washington, D.C. marijuana sales doesn’t stop cannabis; it just reroutes it. Consumers buy from pop-ups instead of licensed storefronts. Taxes evaporate. Testing lags. Neighborhoods carry the externalities without the benefits of a regulated market. If rescheduling lands—and if the Schedule I lock is replaced with a Schedule III key—the District could finally shape a real, legal cannabis market. That means drafting rules that prioritize equity, consumer safety, and neighborhood compatibility. It means clarity on zoning, security, and consumer access. And yes, it means admitting the obvious: federal marijuana policy reform works better when it faces the world as it is, not the one preserved in amber. Until then, D.C. remains a showcase of what happens when Congress refuses to let local democracy finish the recipe. The stew simmers, the aroma is everywhere, and nobody’s allowed to ladle a bowl. If you’re ready to explore compliant, high-quality options while the policy world catches up, visit our shop at thcaorder.com/shop.