The Delaware Governor, John Carney, is one of the few democratic governors who is opposed to recreational cannabis legalization. He has continuously voiced his opposition to the measure currently in the House for debate, HB 150. He also won’t say whether he will veto the legalization bill or not.
“We spend all this time and money to get people to stop smoking cigarettes and now we want to say it’s okay to just smoke marijuana recreationally,” the governor said. “Look, I don’t want to sound like a prude about it, I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“If you talk to the parents of some of these folks that have overdosed and passed away, they don’t think it’s a good idea because they remember the trajectory of their own sons and daughters,” the governor continued. “And I’m not suggesting that that’s always a gateway for all that, but if you talk to those Attack Addiction advocates they don’t think it’s a very good idea.”
But HB 150 may not even make it to the governor’s desk. According to House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf (D), he has “no sense” on how the final vote will go down or if HB 150 will make it out of the House, let alone to the governor’s desk.
HB 150
Under this recreational cannabis legalization bill, citizens 21 and over would be allowed to purchase and possess up to one ounce of cannabis at any time. However, there would not be any home growth legalization measures. There would also be a 15 percent sales tax applied to all recreational cannabis sales, generating revenue for the state.
Initial revenue would go towards funding the recreational cannabis program. The rest is for the legislature to decide at a later time.
Currently, the Democratic party holds a ⅗ majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. In order to pass this bill, a super majority is needed. This is because of the tax percentage on sales. A larger majority is needed to approve the increased tax rate.
Future
A vote on HB 150 is expected this Thursday, June 10. As more information becomes available, we will update you with the latest.
Make sure to check back for more cannabis and hemp related news.