This past regular session, Delaware Representatives failed to move a recreational cannabis legalization bill out of the House. There were several concerns from various lawmakers surrounding social equity in regards to businesses and license distribution. So the bill’s sponsor, Representative Ed Osienski, D, pulled HB 150, the legalization bill, from the House floor.

Now, Rep. Osienski has worked continuously on a substitute bill for HB 150 and says it will be ready for introduction in January. When the new legislative session starts, recreational cannabis can be one of the first topics discussed.

“I hope we can get ours up and running before the federal government takes action,” Rep. Osienski told local news. “I hope to get this done before Washington takes steps, because this will give Delaware businesses a head start before the federal government changes its regulations. States that didn’t take this action will be slow starting out, whereas states that have will have a head start and be able to sell their product across state borders.”

Details

Previously, lawmakers clashed over social equity concerns. Rep. Osienski is including language in the substitute bill to create a commission for a social equity fund. This would be for social equity applicants and minority business owners. There will be no funding mechanism, so a ⅗ majority is needed for the bill to pass. That equals 25 votes in the House of Representatives. Rep. Osienski believes his bill will receive at least that many votes but is hoping for more. 

If this substitute bill makes it out of the House of Representatives, it will move on to the Senate where it will receive further debate. If it is approved there, then the bill moves to the governor’s desk. However, Governor John Carney, D, is one of the few democratic governors who is not in support of recreational cannabis legalization. He is joined by Hawaii Governor David Ige and Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards. There is a chance Governor Carney could veto a recreational cannabis legalization bill. Should that happen, a ⅔ majority from both the Senate and the House would need to vote on the measure to overturn the governor’s veto. 

Next Steps

Representative Osienski says his main goal is to remove the black market and the violence associated with it. One thing he hopes to see from a legal recreational market is the shift alcohol saw after prohibition ended. Breweries and liquor stores became profitable legitimate businesses. There’s hope cannabis can do the same. 

“Can you still get illegally made alcohol – moonshine? Yeah, you still can, but the majority of Americans will walk into a liquor store. Eventually, that will happen with marijuana,” the representative said.

The lawmaker continues to work on the language for the substitute bill for HB 150 and meets with fellow lawmakers to discuss concerns and potential amendments. For now, Delaware citizens will have to wait until January 2022 to see if recreational cannabis legalization will come to their state or not. 

Make sure to check back for more cannabis and hemp related news.