On the first weekend after the legalization of marijuana in the nation’s capital, a sell-out crowd gathered in a hotel ballroom with the same basic mission: Learn how to capitalize on the economic opportunity that’s headed for D.C., the so-called “Green Rush.” Conference attendees, who paid up to $299 for the weekend, listened to presenters talk about securing investors, navigating complex tax issues, and cultivating customers along with your plants.
The unique challenge in D.C. is that Initiative 71, which went into effect on Thursday, only permits the home cultivation and possession of small amounts of marijuana. Buying and selling are still illegal, thanks to Congressional intervention, effectively blocking many of the opportunities to create jobs and revenue that states such as Colorado are currently capitalizing on.
But the legal obstacles didn’t blunt the enthusiasm of many residents in the adjoining expo and job fair, which was free to the public. “This is the new frontier, man,” Dave, a 26-year-old resident of Northeast D.C. told ThinkProgress. After he finished signing up with one of the staffing agencies present, he added that he was really encouraged by “how open people are in terms of getting you involved, teaching you new things. They’re looking for growers and more inexperienced people.”
Corey Barnette, owner of District Growers, one of three authorized growers in the city, said he’d been peppered with a range of questions, from people with farm land in Maryland offering to partner with him, to those with with no experience and an interest in dipping their toe into these uncharted waters. The common sentiment throughout the day, however, was excitement for what could lie ahead. “What I’m really happy about is the level of enthusiasm for the industry that’s evident here in Washington, D.C.,” he told ThinkProgress.
Barnette said he lobbied hard for the passage of Initiative 71 and was encouraged by the strong response from voters, but cautioned that there are going to be some serious side-effects of what he predicts could be, in effect, an open-air cannabis market. “We do need the kinds of controls in place to be able to regulate this industry,” he said. “The black market is going to thrive under 71 and we need to be able to have a taxed and regulated system to just curtail the black market. If you think somebody is going to put $800 or $900 into growing three plants and then just give it away — have you seen a lot of people just running around handing out $800 or $900? It isn’t going to happen that way.”
The initial intent of 71 was to create a tax and regulate system, but that was thwarted by Congress’ move to exercise its extraordinary authority over the District and prohibit the D.C. City Council from using any funds to tax and regulate pot.
Proponents aren’t backing down, however. “This is the opportunity of a lifetime for D.C.,” Councilman David Grosso told the convention crowd on Saturday. “If we implement a regulatory framework, we will be directly defying Congress.”
In January, Grosso and three of his colleagues introduced the Marijuana Legalization and Regulation Act of 2015, which would create a framework for the legal cultivation and sale of pot, essentially regulating and taxing marijuana like alcohol. Such a system would really open up the market for would-be entrepreneurs, Barnette said. “If we pass tax and regulate, I believe that within the first year we’ll create over 2,500 jobs in this city. When we top out, we’ll probably have created over 4,000 jobs in D.C.,” he said.
That opportunity, and the desire of a small handful in Congress to block it, becomes even more pronounced “when you look at the fact that there are certain areas of our city that have unemployment at like 25 percent, to have a new industry where you have to train people and you have to look locally for jobs … and almost every job is an entry-level opportunity and there’s a tremendous growth opportunity following it,” Barnette said.
Grosso told ThinkProgress that he intends to regroup with his colleagues and continue pushing for a legal, regulated marijuana industry in the nation’s capital. But even if the rush of jobs and revenue that many would hope for won’t be materializing just yet, his primary concern is and always has been addressing the lopsided arrest and incarceration of D.C.’s black residents and from that perspective, the city’s marijuana laws as they stand now represent a significant improvement.
“Right now, when you stand on the street corner and hang out with your friends and a jump-out comes out and checks all your pockets and all you’ve got there is a bag of marijuana, you’re not going to go to jail,” he said. “That’s a benefit for everyone and a huge step forward.” (For more on the insidious police practice known as jump-outs, read this recent ThinkProgress investigation).
Grosso added, “It’s not about smoking pot; it’s not about getting high; it’s about stopping people going to jail.”