Mayor Muriel Bowser is looking to pull D.C.’s brewers and distillers into the medical cannabis game, just without the booze or bar vibes. On Thursday she introduced a bill that would let local breweries and distilleries partner with the city’s medical cannabis manufacturers to crank out alcohol-free, cannabis-infused drinks for registered patients. The proposal lays out a licensing track and testing rules meant to keep production rooted in the District while giving medical users a smoke-free option. Familiar beer and spirits makers could lean on their existing bottling lines, but they still would not be allowed to sell intoxicating products on-site, according to Axios.
What the bill would do
The Medical Cannabis Beverage Product Amendment Act of 2026 would carve a new Section 25-132 into D.C. law to create a “medical cannabis beverage production endorsement.” That endorsement would allow holders of a manufacturer’s license class A or B to receive cannabis or THC from a licensed medical cannabis manufacturer and then produce nonalcoholic cannabis beverages. The measure would also establish a medical cannabinoids import endorsement, set a minimum annual fee of $500 for the beverage endorsement, and require that deliveries between licensed businesses be tracked. These details are spelled out in the Medical Cannabis Beverage Product Amendment Act of 2026.
Why breweries and distilleries are interested
Supporters say the bill tackles a straightforward capacity problem: medical cannabis manufacturers typically do not have the large-scale bottling operations needed for beverages, while breweries and distilleries already do. According to Axios, the idea also plugs into a broader national shift, with alcohol consumption trending down and cannabis use rising. That mix could offer a fresh revenue shot for a craft beverage scene that has cooled from its boom years. Backers stress that the bill would let local producers pivot into THC drinks without turning their tasting rooms into de facto dispensaries.
Mayor and regulator weigh in
“This is an opportunity to support two local industries and to keep business in DC,” Bowser said as she rolled out the proposal. Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration Director Fred Moosally called the bill a measure that “provides a legal pathway” for breweries and distilleries to put their beverage-production know-how to work alongside licensed medical cannabis manufacturers. Those comments were reported by WJLA.
Who could buy the drinks and safety checks
For all the crossover potential, the draft law keeps the retail side locked down. Sales would be limited to licensed medical cannabis dispensaries and registered patients, with a hard ban on selling the beverages in grocery stores, restaurants, bars, or directly from breweries and distilleries. Every drink would need to clear mandatory testing at a D.C.-licensed laboratory before it could hit dispensary shelves, and the bill reinforces electronic tracking requirements and courier rules for transfers between licensed businesses. Those safeguards and access limits are baked into the proposal to keep THC beverages inside the regulated medical system, as detailed in the bill text.
What's next
Introduced at the mayor’s request, the measure now moves to the D.C. Council, where it will face the usual gauntlet of committee review, public hearings, and potential tweaks before any final vote. If councilmembers decide to move it forward, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration would be tasked with writing the implementing rules and issuing the new endorsements and courier licenses. As Axios notes, that would put D.C. alongside a patchwork of places that keep THC drinks confined to licensed dispensaries even as hemp-derived beverages flow more freely into mainstream retail outside the tightly regulated market.
