Delaware Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Legalization Bill In Committee One Day After Regulatory Proposal Advances

Delaware lawmakers approved a bill to legalize marijuana on Wednesday, advancing the reform in committee just one day after a complementary measure to establish basic regulations for an adult-use market cleared a different panel.

The House Health & Human Development Committee passed the simple legalization bill, which was introduced earlier this month, in a 11-4 vote. Meanwhile, the companion regulatory proposal moved through the House Revenue & Finance Committee on Tuesday.

Rep. Ed Osienski (D) is sponsoring both pieces of legislation. He took a similar, bifurcated approach for the reform last session and saw the legislature pass the basic legalization proposal while narrowly defeating the regulatory measure. Gov. John Carney (D) vetoed the former legislation, and the House didn’t have to votes for an override.

“This bill ends over 50 years of prohibition and criminalization in Delaware and allows adults over the age of 21 to legally possess, consume and freely share under one ounce of marijuana for personal use,” Osienski said during Wednesday’s hearing.

The lawmaker said his legislation is expected to potentially come up for a House floor vote in March.

Here’s what the HB 1 legalization bill would accomplish: 

State statute would be revised to legalize the possession, use, sharing and purchasing of up to one ounce of cannabis for adults 21 and older.

To avoid abuses of the “gifting” provision, the bill stipulates that “adult sharing” would not include giving away cannabis “contemporaneously with another reciprocal transaction between the same parties” such as an exchange of a non-marijuana item.

Public consumption and growing cannabis would remain prohibited.

People under 21 who engage in such activity would be subject to a civil penalty of up to $100 for a first offense. Police could use discretion and issue a citation in lieu of that fine, however.

Here’s an overview of the key provisions of the HB 2 regulatory bill: 

The legislation would provide a basic framework to create a regulated system of cannabis commerce for adults in the state.

The Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement (DATE) would be responsible for regulating the market through a new Office of Marijuana Control Commissioner.

For the first 16 months of implementation, regulators could approve up to 30 cannabis retail licenses.

Applicants who show that they’d provide a living wage, health insurance coverage, sick and paid leave and focus on diversity in hiring would be prioritized in the licensing scoring process.

Seven percent of marijuana business fee revenue would go to a “Justice Reinvestment Fund” that supports restorative justice, workforce development, technical assistance for economically disadvantaged people and more.

That fund would also go toward “creating or developing technology to assist with the restoration of civil rights and expungement of criminal records.” However, the legislation itself doesn’t provide for automatic expungements.

In additional to conventional retail, cultivator, manufacturer and laboratory licenses, the bill would additional provide for social equity and microbusiness licenses (reserved for applicants with majority ownership by Delaware residents).

Localities would be able to prohibit marijuana businesses from operating in their area through ordinance.

Adult-use marijuana sales would be subject to a 15 percent sales tax. Medical cannabis products would not be taxed.

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At the Wednesday hearing, a representative of the state Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health expressed concerns about youth cannabis consumption. An official with Delaware’s Division of Public Health testified that its primary concern is ensuring that legalizing marijuana for adult use does not compromise patient access under the existing medical cannabis program.

The executive director of the Delaware League of Local Governments voiced opposition to the legislation, though they said that if the state moves ahead with the reform, they’d like to see revenue sharing for local jurisdictions.

Advocates are increasingly optimistic about the legislation’s prospects given that last year’s election added more progressive lawmakers to the legislature. Regional developments, with surrounding states enacting legalization, are also putting pressure on Delaware lawmakers.

Because the regulatory bill includes tax components, it requires a three-fifths majority of lawmakers to approve it. The basic legalization measure only needs a simple majority.

Osienski made the calculated decision to break up the measures in the previous session after an earlier proposal that included both components was rejected in the House because it failed to reach the three-fifths vote requirement.

But while there are high hopes that the new legislation will make it through both chambers, it remains to be seen how the governor would approach it given his ongoing opposition to comprehensive legalization, or whether the votes are ultimately there to override a potential veto.

In October, Carney vetoed a more narrowly tailored bill that would have clarified that medical marijuana patients are not prohibited from buying, possessing or transferring firearms under state law

A strong majority of Delaware voters support legalizing marijuana—including nearly three in four Democrats who back the reform that the state’s Democratic governor vetoed last year, according to a poll released that month.

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