In case anyone else missed it, the City’s first medical marijuana cultivation center is being looked at for 411 New York Ave NE. The proprietor of this cultivation center, which is allowed 95 plants by law, is Montgomery Blair Sibley. Sibley is a “controversial” attorney and is considering the property along New York Ave NE.
Now, this blog doesn’t usually stray from the RIA corridor unless there is development that could possibly impact the Avenue. I believe this is a case that might have an overall impact on Ward 5 and redevelopment of the culture of our Ward and the Avenue. When you have a supply of something, there needs to be a place to sell that something. In this case, the possibility that dispensaries could start popping up all over Ward 5 and the Avenue are higher in most cases given the proximity to the cultivation center. As in retail, many stores stay in close proximity to its distribution centers to minimize overhead costs and maximize profit and supply. There have not been any dispensaries considered for RIA that I am aware of but it doesn’t mean they are not coming. In addition, as the DCist points out, Ward 5 is already being the “dumping ground” for the rest of the Districts nuisances (i.e. nightclubs, strip clubs).
It also seems that the ANC has not taken a stance on the issue either….in my opinion, I haven’t seen the ANC take a stand against anything lately. Decency, quality, and neighborhood-friendly seem to be trumped by low paying jobs, redevelop to anything types of economic growth in Ward 5 when it is the opposite in nearly every other Ward….which is why we complain but don’t act.
(Photo credit to and from DCist)
rhodeislandavene.com 
There are already a whole bunch of “distribution” centers around here so at least this type would be legal/monitored. The driving up and honking for weed in broad daylight/out in the open doesn’t seem to draw much police attention. I have been told by MPD they are only concerned about the big dealers. Let the hippies fake their illness and get high. Bust the real criminals.
As always thanks for bringing this to our attention. Along RIA, there are two ANCS’s one has to deal with: ANC 5-A and ANC 5-B. ANC 5-B also encompasses New York Avenue. Whenever, I’ve gone to ANC 5-A meetings and any issue along RIA is brought up, the commissioners act like that region doesn’t exist. You can talk about prostitution, drugs, thefts, etc. to them and the only thing they are concerned about is Brookland and what goes on on 12th Street. So, it’s doubtful whether they would even listen to any concerns about legal marijuana distribution centers along RIA, unless they don’t want them on 12th Street. I haven’t been able to attend any recent ANC 5-B meetings, so I don’t know how the commissioners generally react to issues like this. Harry Thomas lives in ANC 5-B, so if he wants the legal marijuana distributions centers, just like he wanted the strip clubs/nightclubs in 5-B, it’s likely he’ll get them.
How is this even “development?” I can’t imagine that a weed nursery will employ many people. It won’t provide a needed service to the community at large. It’s horizontal, ground-level space-intensive, and won’t foster legal, beneficial activity on the street. I don’t think there’s as much risk of a dispensery district popping up around the nursery as you seem to think, but I still don’t see it as beneficial to the community.
As far as the ANCs go, they’re hit-or-miss. I’ve seen my ANC stand up to the “old guard” on occasion, but I’ve also been let down by her lack of response and engagement on other issues we have contacted her about. At ANC meetings, they’re resistant to the “dumping” you mention, but clearly not enough in general because these things still move into the neighborhood. (FYI, I’m in ANC 5B, which includes both RIA and the north side of NYA)
Sort of related, I’m on ria and monroe (east side). What anc am I in? I am not 100% sure that I even have an anc rep. Thx.
Seems to me that having medicine available to those who need it and regulating a black market product might be beneficial for the neighborhood. There is nothing indecent about horticulture.
Having actually read the regulations the city council passed for medical marijuana I can tell you that dispensaries will certainly not be just “popping up” it will be very hard to have a dispensary, just as hard as it is to have a cultivation spot. Because of the sringentness of the regulations the black market for weed will continue to flourish. The location is a good one for cultivation, nothing has been there for years, it is basically an industrial are and not near any schools or metro stops. I would prefer to see the retail side of this be right there at the cultivation location, with lots of security. While it isn’t a big jobs maker, it has the potential to be a decent tax revenue generator. We’re going to have it, it might as well be in a semi-industrial area, which Ward 5 has in abundance compared with other places in the DC, we’re not a dumping ground per-say, but the way the city council tells people how to run their business with zoning laws parts of Ward 5 become that way. Let the guy build his pot farm and let him sell it legally, it is better for the city this way.
There have not been any nuclear waste dumps considered for RIA that I am aware of but it doesn’t mean they are not coming.
See what I did there? I mean, you could put anything in the place of “nuclear waste dumps” to stir up a little fear.
I don’t think this is being approached in a healthy or rational way, honestly. Yes, there may be a place to legally purchase a controlled substance. How is that any different than a place to legally purchase alcohol? Both have their positives and negatives, right? I just think the wording here prejudges things greatly.