Last week I went to Capital City Care for the first time. I’m a registered medical marijuana patient, and I've been curious about Capital City Care every time I've been in the U St./Shaw neighborhood, so I decided it was time to poke my head in and see what’s happening in their neck of the forest. Capital City Care is located a block away from the African American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo Metro Station on U St. NW, and is very accessible by metro and metro bus. There's also a good amount of street parking within a couple blocks of the store, which is open from 11am-7pm Monday through Friday, and noon-5pm on Saturdays.
Shopping at Capital City Care
Capital City Care is at street level, unlike many recreational cannabis shops in DC which are often on the second floor or in the basement. To enter, you need a valid ID and medical license from any state that has its own medical marijuana program (CCC recognizes out-of-state medical recommendations under Initiative 71). When you arrive, you're ushered into a spacious lobby that has plenty of room for patients who use wheelchairs. If you're a first-time visitor, you'll fill out a questionnaire while a staff member runs your license through the system, and then you'll be buzzed into the store.
While Capital City Care doesn't have a rewards program, they do offer a 25% discount for first-time patients. The store also participates in Columbia Care’s Share Well/Care Well program, which subsidizes medical cannabis for patients with who face significant financial hardship from medication costs. CCC also features sale items which you can find by browsing the menu on their website.
Customer Service at Capital City Care
The store’s size affords patients adequate room for physical distancing and a relatively private shopping experience. Interacting with a knowledgable budtender is my favorite thing about shopping at a medical cannabis store, and my experience at Capital City Care was no exception. A common concern amongst cannabis patients and enthusiasts is that medical market budtenders are beholden to the corporations that own the stores they work at, but for the most part I don't find that to be the case in DC. The budtender at Capital City Care was especially helpful!
I have specific expectations for what I’m looking for in terms of effect and flavor from medical cannabis, and my long conversation with the budtender helped me select two products for this review that I’d never tried before. The first was District Cannabis Cherry Chem. I'd been hearing about this cultivar since I dove into DC weed Reddit, and I was glad to finally sample it. The Maryland version of Cherry Chem is produced by Maryland Cultivation & Processing, and the DC version is cultivated by Phyto. I’ve never tried the Maryland version, so I don’t have a basis for comparison, but MCP grows the plants in light assisted “Dutch” greenhouses whereas District Cannabis in DC grows indoor in rockwool.
What's on the Menu at Capital City Care?
Capital City Care is the only medical dispensary in DC with its own cultivation facility. If you’re a fan of Capital City Care branded flower, you'll be a repeat customer at this store. The flower is lab-tested for active cannabinoids and potency. Test results for pesticides, plant disease and terpene content are not available.
I also procured a ball of hash from Capital City Care. It was kind of like old-school Moroccan hash, which I smoked by rolling it into a “worm,” laying it onto the Cherry Chem flower in a joint and molding the flower over it. The joint had great flavor from both the hash and flower. It burned light, smoked smoothly, and gave a relaxing but not overpowering effect. The high lasted an good amount of time, and felt more medicating than intoxicating.
I'd recommend the flower to recommend to anyone who really likes Cherry Pie or Chem, and the hash to anyone, really. Who doesn't like old-school hash? I was given a 25% discount for being a first-time customer, which certainly made the experience more affordable.
Capital City Care: The Last Nug
If you’re hesitant to sign up for a medical card in DMV, I'm telling you that that access to a DC medical dispensary like Capital City Care is worth it. The biggest reason for this is the budtenders. When I was shopping at Capital City Care, the budtender I worked with understood my preferences and the quality of products I was looking for, and we even discussed why many folks buy their meds on the traditional market rather than the med market. My budtender was super helpful, and I had an excellent experience with the products he recommended. If you're a medical cannabis patient, check out Capital City Care to see for yourself!