The Delaware House of Representatives has approved a bill to legalize marijuana possession, with a complementary measure to establish basic regulations for a commercial adult-use market also advancing.
The full chamber passed the legalization legislation from Rep. Ed Osienski (D) on Tuesday in a 28-13 vote, sending it to the Senate for consideration. Osienski is also sponsoring the regulatory bill that moved through a committee in January but has one additional panel stop on its way to the floor.
“It is time for us to listen to our constituents and make Delaware the 22nd state to legalize adult-use, recreational marijuana,” Osienski said on the floor.
He added that there continue to be thousands of arrests over simple possession, despite the state’s existing decriminalization law, and that the burden of that criminalization falls disproportionately on minority communities.
The lawmaker 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, and the House didn’t have to votes for an override.
Here’s what the House-passed HB 1 legalization bill would accomplish:
State statute would be revised to legalize the possession, use, sharing
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