District Of Columbia § 7-1671.01 - Definitions.
Full text of District Of Columbia D.C. Code § 7-1671.01 — Definitions., with citation guidance and answers to common questions.
§ 7-1671.01. Definitions.
7-1671.01For the purposes of this chapter, the term:
“Administer” or “administration” means the direct introduction of medical marijuana, whether by inhalation, ingestion, or any other means, into the body of a person.
“Bona fide physician-patient relationship” means a relationship between a physician and patient in which the physician:
Has completed a full assessment of the patient’s medical history and current medical condition, including a personal physical examination; and
Has responsibility for the ongoing care and treatment of the patient.
“Caregiver” means a person who:
Is designated by a qualifying patient as the person authorized, on the qualifying patient’s behalf, to possess, obtain from a dispensary, dispense, and assist in the administration of medical marijuana;
Is registered with the Department as the qualifying patient’s caregiver;
Is not currently serving as the caregiver for another qualifying patient; and
Is at least 18 years of age.
“Controlled Substances Act” means Unit A of [ et seq.].
“Cultivation center” means a facility operated by an organization or business registered with the Mayor pursuant to from or at which medical marijuana is cultivated, possessed, manufactured, and distributed in the form of medical marijuana, and paraphernalia is possessed and distributed to dispensaries.
“Department” means the Department of Health.
“Dispensary” means a facility operated by an organization or business registered with the Mayor pursuant to from or at which medical marijuana is possessed and dispensed and paraphernalia is possessed and distributed to a qualifying patient or a caregiver.
“Dispense” means to distribute medical marijuana to a qualifying patient or caregiver pursuant to this chapter and the rules issued pursuant to .
“Distribute” means the actual, constructive, or attempted transfer from one person to another.
“Manufacture” means the production, preparation, propagation, compounding, conversion, or processing of marijuana, either directly or indirectly by extraction from substances of natural origin, or independently by means of chemical synthesis, or by a combination of extraction and chemical synthesis, and includes any packaging or repackaging of the substance or labeling or re-labeling of its container.
“Marijuana” shall have the same meaning as provided in .
“Medical marijuana” means marijuana cultivated, manufactured, possessed, distributed, dispensed, obtained, or administered in accordance with this chapter and the rules issued pursuant to .
“Minor” means any person under 18 years of age, but does not include an emancipated minor.
“Paraphernalia” means:
Objects used, intended for use, or designed for use in preparing, storing, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing medical marijuana into the human body; and
Kits, objects, devices, or equipment used, intended for use, or designed for use in planting, propagating, manufacturing, cultivating, growing, harvesting, processing, or preparing medical marijuana.
“Physician” means an individual who is licensed and in good standing to practice medicine or osteopathy under District law.
“Program” means the medical marijuana program established by .
“Qualifying medical condition” means any condition for which treatment with medical marijuana would be beneficial, as determined by the patient’s physician.
“Qualifying medical treatment” means:
Chemotherapy;
The use of azidothymidine or protease inhibitors;
Radiotherapy; or
Any other treatment, as determined by rulemaking, whose side effects require treatment through the administration of medical marijuana in the same manner as a qualifying medical condition.
“Qualifying patient” means a resident of the District who has a qualifying medical condition or is undergoing a qualifying medical treatment.
“Residence” means a dwelling or dwelling unit in which a person lives in a particular locality with the intent to make it a fixed and permanent home.
Annotations
D.C. Act 13-138 became on February 25, 2010, and is published at 57 DCR 3360. amended in its entirety “to read as follows.”
With the removal of the “Bar Amendment”, the Council transmitted Act 13-138 to Congress on December 21, 2009, for a 30-day period of review.
Between 1998 and 2009 all District of Columbia appropriations acts contained language that prevented Initiative 59 from taking effect as law. Congress did not include the language in the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2010 (Pub. L. 111-117).
On September 30, 2001, the Control Board suspended its activities.
On October 26, 1999, the Control Board informed the Council that it would not accept D.C. Act 13-138 without a revised fiscal impact statement from the CFO.
On October 25, 1999, the District of Columbia Council transmitted D.C. Act 13-138 to the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority (“Control Board”).
On October 20, 1999, the District of Columbia Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) submitted a fiscal impact statement that found that implementation of Act 13-138 would have a fiscal impact and recommended that the cost be included in the development of the fiscal year 2001 budget.
In Turner v. District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics, 77 F.Supp.2d 25 (D.D.C. 1999), the court ruled that the Board could count and certify the election results concerning Initiative 59. After the count, the Board announced that Initiative 59 had been approved by the voters and certified the results. The initiative was eventually assigned D.C. Act 13-138.
After the vote, the Board of Elections and Ethics refused, in light of the Barr Amendment, to release and certify the results of the vote on Initiative 59. Certain District of Columbia voters then sued the Board.
Initiative 59, permitting the use of marijuana for medical treatment, was certified as a proper subject for an initiative by the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics on September 17, 1998. In reaction to the certification, Congress enacted and the President signed the “Barr Amendment” that prohibited the use of appropriated funds to conduct any ballot initiative which sought to legalize or otherwise reduce penalties associated with a controlled substance. Since, the ballots for the November 3 election had already been printed before enactment of the Barr Amendment, District voters still considered the initiative.
History of .
Source: official District Of Columbia text · Last verified 2026-08-27
Frequently Asked Questions About District Of Columbia § 7-1671.01
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Section 7-1671.01 ("Definitions.") is part of the D.C. Code, the codified statutory law of District Of Columbia. It sets out the legal rule or procedure described in the text above. Statutes are amended regularly, so always verify against the official source.
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