![](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-27.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
A Delaware Senate committee has approved a pair of House-passed bills<\/a> to legalize marijuana and create regulations for adult-use sales.<\/p>\n Both pieces pieces of legislation from Rep. Ed Osienski (D) cleared the Senate Health & Social Services Committee on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Sen. Trey Paradee (D), who is carrying the bill in the Senate, told members of the panel that the state\u2019s existing law that merely decriminalizes low-level cannabis possession is inadequate.<\/p>\n \u201cThe arrests have continued and, as a result, lives have been turned upside down,\u201d he said. \u201cAlthough the civil offense is not as harmful as an arrest, the citations cannot be expunged and still appear in public record searches. This gap has caused a number of Delawareans to miss out on life-changing job opportunities due to the appearance of citations on background checks.\u201d<\/p>\n He noted that ongoing enforcement falls disproportionately on people of color, adding that Delaware is increasingly \u201can island of prohibition\u201d as neighboring states move to enact cannabis reforms.<\/p>\n I was proud to preside at today\u2019s hearing, to release these bills today, and I\u2019m looking forward to voting for both on the floor of the Senate.<\/p>\n \u2014 Sen. Sarah McBride (@SarahEMcBride) March 15, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n A Delaware Division of Public Health representative testified at the hearing<\/a> to share concerns about broader legalization\u2019s potential impact on the state\u2019s current medical cannabis program.<\/p>\n \u201cIn other states, the medical marijuana programs were decimated once adult use laws were passed with some states finding that over 75 percent of patients did not renew their cards,\u201d she said. \u201cRevenue from card and licensure fees are the only funding mechanism for the medical marijuana program\u2026 DPH wants to ensure that patients have continued access to extensively tested marijuana products, regardless of the availability of recreational marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n Osienski, the House sponsor, 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<\/a>, and\u00a0the House didn\u2019t have to votes for an override<\/a>.<\/p>\n Osienski recently told 47 ABC News that if the governor seeks to veto the legislation again this time, he\u2019s \u201coptimistic\u201d and feels \u201cpretty good\u201d that they have the votes for an override.<\/p>\n \u201cI think my colleagues are saying, \u2018OK, you know, you had one shot at vetoing this, you did and you were successful, but don\u2019t count on us supporting that veto again,’\u201d he said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Both the simple legalization bill and the sales regulation measure cleared the House this month with more than enough votes to override any potential veto.<\/p>\n In the Senate, the legal possession measure\u2019s next stop is a floor vote, while the commercial bill heads to the Finance Committee first.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what the HB 1<\/a>\u00a0legalization bill would accomplish:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n To avoid abuses of the \u201cgifting\u201d provision, the bill stipulates that \u201cadult sharing\u201d would not include giving away cannabis \u201ccontemporaneously with another reciprocal transaction between the same parties\u201d such as an exchange of a non-marijuana item.<\/p>\n Public consumption and growing cannabis would remain prohibited.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Here\u2019s an overview of the key provisions of the\u00a0HB 2<\/a>\u00a0regulatory bill:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The legislation would provide a basic framework to create a regulated system of cannabis commerce for adults in the state.<\/p>\n The Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement (DATE) would be responsible for regulating the market through a new Office of Marijuana Control Commissioner.<\/p>\n For the first 16 months of implementation, regulators could approve up to 30 cannabis retail licenses.<\/p>\n Applicants who show that they\u2019d 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.<\/p>\n Seven percent of marijuana business fee revenue would go to a \u201cJustice Reinvestment Fund\u201d that supports restorative justice, workforce development, technical assistance for economically disadvantaged people and more.<\/p>\n That fund would also go toward \u201ccreating or developing technology to assist with the restoration of civil rights and expungement of criminal records.\u201d However, the legislation itself doesn\u2019t provide for automatic expungements.<\/p>\n 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).<\/p>\n Localities would be able to prohibit marijuana businesses from operating in their area through ordinance.<\/p>\n Adult-use marijuana sales would be subject to a 15 percent sales tax. Medical cannabis products would not be taxed.<\/p>\n \u2014 Advocates are increasingly optimistic about the legislation\u2019s prospects given that last year\u2019s election added more progressive lawmakers to the legislature. Regional developments, with surrounding states enacting legalization, are also putting pressure on Delaware lawmakers.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Osienski made the calculated decision to break up the measures in the previous session after an earlier proposal that included both components\u00a0was rejected in the House<\/a>\u00a0because it failed to reach the three-fifths vote requirement.<\/p>\n Shortly after the House passed the latest versions of the legalization measures last week, the Senate approved a resolution that urges the state\u2019s congressional representatives to support legislation to end federal cannabis prohibition<\/a>.<\/p>\n Separately, in October, Carney vetoed a more narrowly tailored bill<\/a>\u00a0that would have clarified that medical marijuana patients are not prohibited from buying, possessing or transferring firearms under state law<\/p>\n A strong majority of Delaware voters support legalizing marijuana\u2014including nearly three in four Democrats who back the reform that the state\u2019s Democratic governor vetoed last year,\u00a0according to a poll released that month<\/a>.<\/p>\n Germany Will Move Forward With Marijuana Legalization After Receiving \u2018Very Good Feedback\u2019 From EU, Top Official Says<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<\/div>\n Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Delaware Senators Approve House-Passed Marijuana Legalization Bills In Committee<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A Delaware Senate committee has approved a pair of House-passed bills to legalize marijuana and create regulations for adult-use sales. Both pieces pieces of legislation from Rep. Ed Osienski (D) cleared the Senate Health & Social Services Committee on Wednesday. Sen. Trey Paradee (D), who is carrying the bill inContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":62673,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62672"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62672"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62674,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62672\/revisions\/62674"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n\n
\nMarijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-26.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/a>
\nLearn more about our marijuana bill tracker<\/a> and become a supporter on Patreon<\/a> to get access.
\n\u2014<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n
\nRead More: Delaware Senators Approve House-Passed Marijuana Legalization Bills In Committee<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"