A notice of closure appeared in a Cleveland Park smoke shop’s front window this week, and one reader reported an unusual scene outside: five vested police officers stationed in front of Tobacco Palace. Just across Connecticut Avenue, a medical cannabis dispensary from Street Lawyer Service was already open for business.
The sighting was first relayed by a reader to PoPville, who described noticing “5 vested cops stationed outside Tobacco Palace and a ‘notice of closure’ in the window.” The same reader account noted that Street Lawyer Service’s dispensary was now open directly across the street on Connecticut Avenue. PoPville’s headline characterized the shop as having been raided, though no police or regulatory statement confirming a raid, an arrest, or the specific reason for the closure has been made public.
A Dispensary Years in the Making Finally Opens
The new dispensary’s arrival wasn’t exactly a surprise to longtime Cleveland Park watchers. Back in January, PoPville reported that signage for the business had gone up behind the neighborhood’s Fresh Baguette, describing “Street Lawyer Services Medical Cannabis Retailer” as coming to the area. A separate filing with the District’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration had earlier referenced premises “being occupied and run by a business identifying itself as Street Lawyer Services,” according to a document posted on the ABCA website.
The District’s cannabis marketplace operates under a licensing structure overseen by ABCA. The agency’s website states that retailers are permitted to operate between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., though hours can vary depending on what ABCA has approved for a given location. ABCA also maintains a GIS map intended to help residents find a licensed medical cannabis retailer, and the agency notes that only ABCA-licensed retailers appear on that map — internet-only retailers, by contrast, can deliver product but are not permitted to offer in-person or curbside pickup.
A Pattern of Enforcement Against Unlicensed Shops
Cleveland Park’s closure notice follows a string of enforcement actions ABCA has publicized elsewhere in the District over unlicensed cannabis sales. In mid-December 2025, the agency announced that five unlicensed cannabis retailers had been padlocked and four people arrested following a citywide enforcement sweep. Later, ABCA and the Metropolitan Police Department jointly announced closure orders against three more unlicensed retailers — Green Magic, Smoke Island, and Top Mart.
Those prior actions give context for how the city has handled unlicensed cannabis sales in recent months. Whether the notice at Tobacco Palace involved an ABCA action, an MPD investigation, or something else remains unclear.
What Comes Next for the Corridor
For now, Cleveland Park residents are left with a closure notice in one storefront window and a newly opened medical cannabis dispensary across Connecticut Avenue. The opening gives the corridor a cannabis dispensary even as the circumstances behind Tobacco Palace’s notice remain unclear.
