The bill, which takes near-immediate effect, would treat cannabis businesses similarly to liquor-licensed businesses.

Voters will decide whether adults 21 or older can possess small amounts of recreational marijuana. Lawmakers would then have to set up a plan for regulating the industry.

All other legalized states authorize a misdemeanor charge for marijuana possession before they escalate to felony charges, the group says.

“We want people who are buying marijuana to buy it from a licensed retailer where the product has gone through testing,” one lawmaker says.

The bill would also take steps to reverse the harms of previous cannabis-related law enforcement actions, particularly on low-income communities of color.

“There is no reason why those who’ve paid their debt to society should be locked out of this industry any longer,” said Councilmember Robert White.

And the District’s thriving gray market is stepping in.

But Mayor Bowser’s team says they still have “high hopes.”

Some D.C. residents haven’t been able to take advantage of the legalization of recreational marijuana.

“I just want to know where I go to pick up my cannabis, and so does everyone else who was arrested that day.”