The debate over legalizing marijuana in Delaware began anew Wednesday, just weeks after legislators declined to consider the issue.
A 25-member task force charged with studying how Delaware might regulate and tax legal weed held its first meeting in Dover’s Legislative Hall.
The panel of advocates, opponents and public officials is slated to present its findings to Gov. John Carney and the General Assembly before Jan. 31.
The report could bolster efforts to pass legislation that would make Delaware the ninth state to legalize recreational marijuana use or help sink the bill entirely.
“I have colleagues that want to support [the bill] but have questions about regulations and how the money will work,” said state Rep. Helene Keeley, D-South Wilmington. “I’m hopeful they will read [the task force’s report] and the one or two votes we need will come over so we can pass [the bill] out of the House.”
Keeley and state Sen. Margaret Rose Henry, D-Wilmington, are co-chairs of the task force. In March, the two legislators also introduced a bill that would allow people 21 and older to purchase up to an ounce of cannabis from dozens of stores authorized to sell marijuana manufactured at a number of Delaware grow operations.
That did not stop advocates from showing up in force at a series of town hall-style meetings organized by Carney to discuss ways the state could close what was then a nearly $400 million deficit. They argue the bill would eventually add at least $22 million a year to the state’s coffers.
Carney has voiced his opposition to full legalization at this time, saying Delaware should study the impact in other states before taking action. The governor also has argued more time is needed to fully implement a 2011 medical marijuana law and a 2015 bill that decriminalized possession of up to an ounce of the drug.
Keeley and Henry ultimately had to settle for a resolution that created the Adult Use Cannabis Task Force, the body charged with examining how marijuana legalization could be implemented in Delaware.
The panel’s first meeting underlined the pitfalls the panel will have to navigate while developing that framework.
Members of the task force took turns raising issues and concerns with legalization, ranging from a lack of field tests police can use to uncertainty about what actions the Trump administration might take to enforce federal prohibitions against marijuana.
Several medical professionals on the task force pointed to a lack of research on the impacts of long-term use. State finance officials questioned how federal banking regulations might impact tax collection and customer payments. And law enforcement officials questioned the impact on public safety.
“I’m concerned as a legislator that we’re moving far too rapidly toward something that is unknown and is not quantifiable,” said state Rep. Steve Smyk, R-Milton, who is a task force member. “I don’t want Delaware to make the mistakes we’ve already done by legalizing vices.”
Advocates say they hope the task force’s report will help strengthen the bill and help it win passage next year.
“The goal is to give a lot of groups an opportunity to be in on crafting a workable system before something gets passed,” said Cynthia Ferguson, a task force member and executive director of the Delaware branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
Opponents say they hope to use the task force’s meetings to highlight the unexpected consequences experienced by other states that have legalized marijuana – including what they say have been spikes in drugged driving and increases in illegal drug sales. Nearly a dozen influential organizations have been working to convince legislators to oppose the measure.
Led by AAA Mid-Atlantic, the Keep Delaware Safe and Healthy Coalition includes associations representing law enforcement, major employers, hospitals, doctors, nurses and anti-addiction advocates – all opposed to HB 110.
“It is our position that more information and education is needed,” she said. “We need more data to inform what, as public policy, we’re really considering here.”
All eight states that previously legalized marijuana did so through a voter referendum, something the Delaware Constitution does not allow. Last spring, Vermont became the first state to approve a recreational marijuana bill through its Legislature, a measure later vetoed by that state’s Republican governor.
Delaware’s Adult Use Cannabis Task Force will next meet on Oct. 4.
credit:delawareonline.com
