An adult-use cannabis legalization bill in Delaware is near completion and will likely be introduced this session, according to a WDEL report. The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Margaret Rose-Henry, indicated it has preliminary support of the state’s law enforcement community.
“Law enforcement wants this bill,” she said in the report. “I’m pleased to tell you that there are police officers who think this is a good thing that we are going to reduce their having to arrest people who don’t need to be arrested.”
Rose-Henry explained that she and several of her colleagues have been in contact with lawmakers in Colorado while crafting the legislation, hoping to learn from “the corrections that they’ve made.” The details of the bill are doubly important in Delaware, because Gov. John Carney has maintained that the state needs more time to develop its medical cannabis program before advancing into an adult-use market.
“We’re going to make sure we put the safeguards in, work with state and local law enforcement, to ensure that our people are protected,” Rose-Henry said. “I think our governor is being cautious. We had the same thing with the previous governor when I did medical marijuana it takes a while because of the federal laws, and I think that’s his concern.”
According to Cannabis Bureau of Delaware Co-Chair Zoe Patchell, 61 percent of Delawareans support a taxed and regulated adult cannabis market and suggested that public pressure could force Carney to sign the legislation if it were to pass.
So far no state has passed an adult-use measure via the legislative process.