No legal weed for Delaware before 2025: House fails to override veto of cannabis law

Through Nina Zdinjak

The Delaware House failed to override Gov. John Carney’s veto of the marijuana legalization bill. The cannabis bill that made it to the governor’s desk would have eliminated all penalties for adults over 21 for possession of less than an ounce of weed. Unfortunately, Tuesday, the House of Representatives failed to garner enough votes to override the governor’s veto.

Why did Carney veto the bill in the first place?

While Carney has expressed his openness to supporting medical marijuana over the years, he has also stated that he does not “believe that promoting or expanding the use of recreational marijuana is in the best interest of the state of Delaware, particularly.” our young people”.

Governor John Carney / Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images

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He justified his decision to veto it with questions about the “long-term health and economic effects” of marijuana and “serious law enforcement concerns.”

Rep. Ed Osienski, who sponsored the bill, hoped to garner enough votes to override the veto, but he lost five votes, receiving 20 instead of the minimum of 25. In May, the bill had 26 votes, passing him forward to the Senate. So what happened this time? Four Democrats, Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst, Sean Matthews, Bill Carson and Andria Bennett, and Republicans Mike Ramone and Jeffrey Spiegelman changed their votes, WHYY reported.

Osienski urged his colleagues to stand by their first votes and respect the will of Delawareans and override Gov. Carney, who is leaving office in January 2025 after two terms.

“We need legalization,” Osienski said minutes before the roll-call vote in the House. “That’s why I’m asking my colleagues not to wait until 2025.”

He added that “rather than just denying the liberty and liberty of Delawareans to be able to buy this product, we need to fix this issue.”

RELATED: Delaware government vetoes marijuana legalization bill despite passing both houses

Though disappointed with the results, Osienski said he was delighted “to be working for Delawareans.”

Emily David, the governor’s spokeswoman, said Carney “thanks the House of Representatives for today’s vote and respects the role of the General Assembly and all of its constituents in this process. He looks forward to working with them on the important issues remaining at this session.”

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