One aim of the night was to show D.C.—buttoned up, security-cleared, networking-lunch D.C.—that a marijuana party needn’t be more degenerate than a work gala. Guests milled beneath a white tent. Munchies were decidedly more Chez Panisse than Cheeto: Little cubes of watermelon with mint, things on skewers. It was 80 degrees out, but about half the guests wore blazers.

Amen stood in the kitchen in silver heels and skinny jeans, her blond ponytail bobbing up and down as she measured out the cannabis solution into 5 mg (“light”) and 10 mg (“moderate”) portions. Her drinks consist of regular tea or coffee that’s combined with a secret powder that took a food scientist one year to develop, she says. The powder helps cover the grassy taste of marijuana and blends the cannabis oil into the drink.

A standard dose is a cup containing 20 mg of cannabis, but veteran smokers might need need a bit more to feel the effects. After drinking, wait 20 to 30 minutes—and then, as Amen puts it, “the world opens up.”

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I used to think the weed beat would be really fun. Then I started working it and realized that every conversation I had hoped would be about “Guys, what if there were really big Cheez-Its?” instead centers on an endless whorl of legal skirmishes and bureaucratic technicalities.

Most activists who are entrenched in the legalization wars can rattle off, even after a few swigs of Jane’s Brew, every minor victory (like D.C.’s recent legalization of recreational marijuana use) and puzzling limitation (it’s only legal in private residences, so the event, which was at one point scheduled to be held in a club downtown, had to change venues).

Aside from the recreational law, about 3,700 people are registered for D.C.’s medical marijuana program. These patients obtain a “physician’s recommendation” after seeing a doctor about one or more ills that cannabis reportedly relieves. They then visit one of three official dispensaries, which are supplied by a limited number of cultivation centers.

If Jane’s Brew came to D.C., it could only be sold in dispensaries to patients who have medical marijuana cards. Though it’s legal to use or possess marijuana in the District recreationally, it’s not legal to sell it. At the event, all the cannabis oil used in the drinks was donated, the organizers said.

“The vagueness of the law stifles folks from trying to decide whether they want to pursue it,” Sheppard said.

Because D.C. limits the number of plants cultivators can grow, Amen and Sheppard say that right now the price of cannabis oil is prohibitively expensive. However, if they start selling their brew here, they have said they would price it comparably to the $7 they charge in Colorado.

Laws move faster than culture. Craft-beer brewers can get away with talking about hop varieties like chefs do about cuts of lamb, but cannabis artisans don’t have the same luxury yet. So you can understand why they get touchy about terminology. At the event, guests were called into the kitchen with an ominous-sounding, “Your medication is ready.” As they picked up their drinks, Amen slapped a green sticker on her customers: “This means I’ve medicated you, my dear.”