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Washington, D.C.’s ‘cannapeneurs’

Sabri Ben-Achour Jun 3, 2016
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A vendor of hydroponic growing equipment carries a marijuana plant to his vending stall during the first annual National Cannabis Festival on April 23 in Washington, D.C.  Win McNamee/Getty Images

Washington, D.C.’s ‘cannapeneurs’

Sabri Ben-Achour Jun 3, 2016
A vendor of hydroponic growing equipment carries a marijuana plant to his vending stall during the first annual National Cannabis Festival on April 23 in Washington, D.C.  Win McNamee/Getty Images
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Washington, D.C. — the real Washington, D.C., where people live, work, go to school — is in a difficult place legally.

Residents pay taxes but don’t get votes in Congress. Congress, on the other hand, has significant control over local D.C. politics. So when District residents decriminalized/legalized marijuana last year in a referendum, Congress prevented the city council from  regulating it. As a result, the nation’s capital is in an awkward limbo where it’s legal to possess marijuana, but not to sell it. Even so, businesses are popping up with some creative business models to deal with the situation.

Marketplace’s Sabri Ben-Achour spoke with Bo Kenney of Wash Hydro about his business and others trying to get into Washington, D.C.’s emerging “cannabiz” sector. Click the above audio player to hear the full interview.

For a longer discussion of marijuana regulation and history, check out this episode of Actuality, the Marketplace-Quartz podcast. 

 

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