Lead sponsor Rep. Ed Osienski, a Newark-area Democrat, pointed out that it’s no longer a crime in Delaware to have up to an ounce of marijuana, and that medical pot has been available for a decade.
So, in his view, and that of 27 other Democratic co-sponsors in the 62-member General Assembly, it’s about time that anyone 21 and older should be able to go to a licensed store and buy up to an ounce of weed to smoke or ingest in gummy or tablet form.
Sales would be taxed at 15% and home growing would not be permitted under the bill.
Osienski and other advocates note that marijuana is now legal in 18 states, including neighboring New Jersey, though the two other border states — Pennsylvania and Maryland — have not approved it.
Osienski says changes made to his bill since last year could finally get it over the hurdle. The key change is the removal of a provision that provided taxpayer-funded assistance to help prospective vendors or growers who have been arrested previously on pot charges.
That provision last year triggered the necessity of a three-quarters majority vote in both the House and Senate. Realizing that such a threshold was likely too high, Osienski never put it up for a vote.
“So we knew we had to yank that portion out, which we did,” Osienski said. “There won’t be financing in this bill to give to business applicants.”