Puff, Pass and Paint: Issues Arise with DC's "Legal" Home-Based Cannabusinesses

• May 19th 2017

by Nena Perry-Brown

Earlier this year, UrbanTurf reported on the trend of pot parties being thrown in the city in the wake of recreational cannabis legalization. Now, the line between simple home-use of marijuana and the legal parameters of running a cannabis business are being blurred further.

Capitol Hill Corner reported yesterday that there is some neighborhood controversy in Hill East over whether the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCRA) should have registered a home-based cannabis business that some in the area find particularly disruptive.

DCRA permitted a DC outpost of Puff, Pass, and Paint (PP&P), a business that takes the “sip and paint” model and applies it to marijuana use. Already operating in Seattle, Denver and Portland, attendees pay $50 each to come to a class and paint and are asked to BYOB (bring your own beer) or “BYOC (bring your own cannabis)”.

PP&P has a business license and a Home Use Permit; they advertise seats for 20 people per event. Typically, 250 square feet of a residence can be used as office space accommodating up to 8 clients per hour. Dan Wolff, who lives near one of the sites PP&P uses, successfully petitioned the ANC6A’s Planning and Economic Development Committee to raise the issue of whether this business is operating legally.

The issue also raises questions once again of how to interpret the provisions of Initiative 71, whether certain businesses conform to typical home business uses, whether zoning and proximity to institutions like schools needs to be taken into consideration, and the definition of a public place, which currently includes the phrase “any place to which the public is invited”.

However, ongoing Congressional budget riders that restrict the District from spending any funds on creating a regulatory framework for legalized recreational cannabis may be an obstacle to gaining any resolution to these discrepancies in the near-term.

The committee voted to recommend that the full ANC not only write a letter to the mayor asking for guidance on which city agencies regulate cannabis businesses in residential areas, but also appeal DCRA’s permits for PP&P. The ANC is expected to consider these matters at their June 15th meeting.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/puff_pass_paint_issues_arise_with_legal_home-based_cannabusinesses/12593.