DC vs. Its Neighbors

Last verified: April 2026

The National Context

To understand how abnormal DC’s cannabis situation is, compare it to every other jurisdiction where voters approved legalization:

• Colorado: $300M+ annual tax revenue from regulated recreational sales
• California: $1B+ annual tax revenue
• Washington State: $516M annual tax revenue
• Massachusetts: $1.65B in total 2025 sales
• New Jersey: $2B+ cumulative sales since launch
• New York: $1.06B in 2025 sales
• Washington, DC: $0 recreational tax revenue

DC is the only jurisdiction in America where voters legalized recreational cannabis but the government has been prevented from regulating and taxing it. Every other voter-approved legalization has resulted in a regulated market with tax revenue flowing to the jurisdiction. DC stands alone because Congress stands in the way.

Maryland: The $1.16 Billion Irony

Maryland legalized recreational cannabis in July 2023 and has built a thriving market with stunning speed:

• $1.16 billion in sales in FY2025
• $100M+ in tax revenue
• 108 dispensaries across the state
• Average of $10.7 million per dispensary per year

The irony is excruciating: Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) — the congressman who inserts the rider blocking DC’s cannabis market every year — represents Maryland. His own state now operates one of the most successful cannabis markets on the East Coast. Maryland residents in Harris’s district can walk into a licensed dispensary, buy regulated cannabis, and generate tax revenue for their state. DC residents — who voted for legalization at a higher rate than Maryland — cannot.

DCMJ’s boycott of Maryland businesses was a direct response to this hypocrisy, and it attracted a segment on John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight that brought the Harris Rider to a national audience.

Virginia: The 2027 Shift

Virginia represents an existential challenge to DC’s cannabis market. In March 2026, Governor Abner Spanberger signed legislation authorizing retail cannabis sales beginning January 1, 2027. The implications for DC are significant:

• 3.2 million Northern Virginia residents currently cross into DC for cannabis. When Virginia retail opens, much of that traffic reverses
• DC dispensaries could lose an estimated $2 million per month in revenue from Virginia customers alone
• Virginia’s market will likely offer competitive pricing, further undermining DC’s position as the regional cannabis hub
• The combination of Maryland (already open) and Virginia (opening 2027) means DC will be surrounded by fully regulated markets while operating under its own congressional handcuffs

For DC’s 65+ dispensaries, Virginia retail represents a revenue cliff. The Harris Rider does not just block DC from building its own commercial market — it also prevents DC from competing with the markets developing on both sides of its borders.

The Price Problem

DC’s cannabis prices reflect its constrained market:

• DC average: $10.92/gram — the highest in the nation
• National average: $6–$7/gram
• Eighth prices: $40–$70 in DC vs. $25–$45 in Colorado and Oregon

DC’s prices are high because the market cannot expand efficiently. Limited cultivation licenses restrict supply. The inability to regulate recreational commerce prevents the kind of competitive market dynamics that have driven prices down in states like Oregon and Colorado. And there is no tax mechanism to incentivize price competition or subsidize equity programs.

As Maryland and Virginia offer competitive pricing, DC’s price premium becomes a liability rather than a market position.

What DC Is Missing

The Harris Rider does not just block tax revenue. It blocks the entire regulatory infrastructure that other jurisdictions use to manage their cannabis markets:

• No equity licensing program — DC cannot mandate that cannabis licenses go to communities harmed by prohibition, the way Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts have attempted
• No consumption lounge licensing — DC cannot create legal social consumption venues, despite having a ready-made market for them
• No tax-funded community reinvestment — Maryland is using cannabis tax revenue for community programs. DC cannot
• No commercial event licensing — the National Cannabis Festival works, but a formal cannabis event licensing framework would enable more
• No competitive expansion — DC cannot rapidly expand cultivation and retail licenses to compete with Maryland and Virginia on price

Every year the rider continues, the gap between DC’s cannabis market and its neighbors widens. What began as a temporary congressional maneuver has become a decade-long economic and social justice blockade.