Delaware House passes historic cannabis legalization bill

Members of the Delaware State House on Thursday passed legislation that would remove all penalties for adults age 21 and older for possessing up to an ounce of weed, a move local media described as “a historic first step” toward cannabis legalization describe the state.

Lawmakers in the chamber early that evening passed the bill “by a 26-14 vote, including bipartisan support from Republican Reps. Michael Smith of Pike Creek and Jeffrey Spiegelman of Clayton,” according to the Delaware News Journal.

Thursday’s passage of the bill comes nearly two months after a separate legalization measure failed to make it out of the Delaware House, where Democrats hold the majority.

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives passed the bill by a 23-14 vote, but as the Associated Press noted at the time, “it required a three-fifths majority of 25 votes.”

This bill would have legalized the possession of up to one ounce of cannabis for adults over the age of 21 and created a state-regulated cannabis industry.

After the bill fell short in March, lawmakers went back to the drawing board and decided to split the bill’s main parts — legalizing ownership and creating a market — into two separate laws.

As the Delaware News Journal reported, “There are some early signs of this [splitting the measures into two bills] could be a successful approach.”

According to Delaware public radio station WHYY, the bill, which deals with cannabis regulation and taxes, “has approved a House committee, but no vote is scheduled yet,” although the station said the vote “is expected in the coming weeks.” will”.

The property bill now goes to the state Senate, where Democrats also have a majority.

According to WHYY, “Rep. Ed Osienski, the main sponsor of the House of Representatives, predicts the bill will pass the Senate.”

Osienski was also the sponsor of the larger cannabis bill, HB 305, which failed to make it out of the house earlier in this session, prompting him to split the action in two.

“HB 305 had the entire regulatory system for the industry of growing, manufacturing and selling marijuana in the state of Delaware and there was a tax on it which meant it would require 25 [votes], which is a difficult threshold,” Osienski said last month. “I figured, at least with a simple majority of 21, we can push legalization forward. I have 21 House co-sponsors on the bill, so I think I’m pretty confident that will pass unless something dramatic changes and the ban ends.”

But even if any of the bills make it out of the legislature, there is no guarantee they will be signed into law.

The state’s Democratic Gov. John Carney has previously made it clear that he is not a fan of cannabis legalization.

“Look, I just don’t think that’s a good idea,” Carney told Delaware Public Media last year.

“When you talk to the parents of some of these people who overdosed and died, they don’t think it’s a good idea because they remember the background of their own sons and daughters,” he continued. “And I’m not saying that’s always a gateway for all of this, but when you talk to these Attack Addiction advocates, they don’t think it’s a very good idea.”

“When I look at other states that have it, it just doesn’t seem very positive to me because of the strength of the community and the economy in their states,” Carney said. “Is it the worst thing in the world? No of course not.”

The cannabis possession bill passed by the House of Representatives on Thursday may have enough support to overcome Carney’s opposition. According to WHYY, “The 26 yes votes in the House is one more than is needed to override a veto.”