Delaware: Marijuana legalization bill passes House Committee

By Nicolas Jose Rodriguez

A Delaware House committee has approved a bill that would allow adults age 21 and older to purchase and possess up to one ounce of cannabis and five grams of cannabis concentrates, Marijuana Moment reported.

HB 305, filed by Rep. Ed Osienski (D), was passed by the House Appropriations Committee Thursday. The Delaware Marijuana Control Act would regulate and tax marijuana in the same manner as alcohol. The new legislation would not legalize home growing and marijuana delivery services.

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The legislation will create the position of a marijuana commissioner who will establish health and safety regulations for marijuana cultivation and coordinate the Department of Small Business, Development and Tourism “so that prospective businesses licensed under this act have access to programs.” , particularly to those who support small businesses owned by minorities, women and veterans.”

If approved, the bill would establish separate licensing requirements for marijuana retail stores, marijuana testing, cultivation and production facilities. Licensing requirements would also differ between open licenses, social justice licenses, and microenterprise licenses.

In addition, the bill would create the Marijuana Regulation Fund and the Justice Reinvestment Fund.

The regulatory fund consists of fees levied, penalties imposed, and taxes levied when the bill becomes law. It would create a “15% marijuana control enforcement tax on retail marijuana.”

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Seven percent of tax revenue collected will be allocated to the Justice Reinvestment Fund for projects dedicated to “improving the quality of life in communities hardest hit by the policies of marijuana prohibition and the war on drugs.

The legal market could also create more than 1,000 new jobs over five years if the policy is implemented, Marijuana Moment reported.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.