Delaware House votes yes to create recreational marijuana industry with bipartisan support

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect that the Criminal Justice Council will oversee the money in the Justice Reinvestment Fund, as well as clarify that House Bill 1 aims to legalize a "personal use quantity" of marijuana, which varies by cannabis form.

House lawmakers in a historic vote Thursday passed a bill that would create and regulate a recreational marijuana industry in Delaware, a policy Democrats have sought to enact for a decade.

This is the first time Delaware lawmakers have been able to garner the necessary three-fifths vote to pass a version of this legislation. Last year, a similar bill failed by a single vote due to a Democratic lawmaker being sick.

Earlier this week, the House also passed separate legislation in an overwhelming majority to legalize the possession of marijuana in a personal use quantity, defined as one ounce or less of leaf marijuana (with varying amounts for other forms of cannabis). Both bills now head to the Senate, where Democrats have a supermajority.

It legalizes the possession of a personal use quantity of marijuana (defined as one ounce or less of leaf marijuana, 12 grams or less of concentrated cannabis, or cannabis products containing 750 milligrams or less of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol).

Though there are no official estimates on how much money this would bring to Delaware in tax revenue, it would likely bring in millions of dollars to the state. New Jersey collected more than $7 million in taxes on cannabis from July to September 2022 alone.

The bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Ed Osienski, D-Newark, passed with bipartisan support.

EARLIER THIS WEEK:Delaware House votes to legalize recreational marijuana with more Democrats voting yes

Who supported this legislation?

Rep. Michael Smith, a Republican from Pike Creek, and Rep. Jeff Spiegelman, a Republican from Clayton, voted in favor of the legislation along with all present Democrats for a three-fifths majority. Rep. Stephanie Bolden, a Democrat from Wilmington, was absent but relayed the message that she would vote in favor of the bill if she was there.

Rep. Bill Bush, a Dover Democrat who voted no on a similar bill last year, voted yes on Thursday, and House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, a Democrat from Rehoboth Beach who has previously been against legalizing marijuana, also voted in favor of the legislation.

“I'm glad we've gotten to the finish line here so far,” Osienski said after the bill passed.

What is the path forward for legal weed in Delaware?

Now, if the Senate passes both recreational marijuana bills, Democrats will likely once again face another battle with Gov. John Carney, the rare Democrat who is adamantly against the legalization of marijuana. Carney vetoed a legalization bill last year, which fell apart after some Democrats refused to override the governor.

A Carney spokesperson said on Thursday after the vote that the governor’s office had no comment.

Still, activists remain hopeful.

“The people of Delaware overwhelmingly support cannabis legalization and we deserve to see our legislature finally make this important change in 2023,” said Delaware Cannabis Advocacy Network Executive Director Zoë Patchell. “It has taken more than a decade of work on the part of grassroots volunteers and our bill sponsors to get to this historic victory."

What’s in the bill?

The bill passed on Thursday would create a framework to regulate the growth, sale and possession of weed. Lawmakers say marijuana would be regulated and taxed the same way alcohol is. This legislation required a three-fifths vote because it deals with revenue and taxation.

Delawareans would buy marijuana from a licensed retail marijuana store. The bill would allow for up to 30 retail licenses to be distributed within 16 months of the legislation going into effect. The process will be competitive, with prospective retailers being rewarded for providing good salaries and benefits and hiring a diverse workforce.

People of color and those who have been convicted of previous marijuana offenses would be able to get recreational business licenses.

The bill also creates a marijuana control enforcement fee of 15%. And 7% of the marijuana tax revenue would go to a Justice Reinvestment Fund, which has been a key area for members of the Democratic Black Caucus.

This money, controlled by the Criminal Justice Council, would create grants and services that focus on restorative justice and reducing the state’s prison population, among other things.

While those who voted no on the bill acknowledged during floor debate that they did not have the numbers to prevent it from passing, they raised questions about the ethics of legalizing marijuana, specifically through the lens of addiction.

Still, they praised Osienski for his perseverance with the bill, and the Republicans who voted in support of it thanked him for his willingness to engage and make concessions.

As Spiegelman put it, considering all of the agreements they were able to come to, he couldn’t “vote no and look at (himself) in the mirror afterwards.”

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware recreational marijuana industry creation bill clears House