Delaware Senator Announces a Bill to Legalize Marijuana in the State

Senator Margaret Rose-Henry is finalizing her recreational marijuana legalization bill. Delaware is not a voter-initiative state. Law enforcement, according to the senator, strongly supports legalization.

Senator Rose-Henry has discussed legal marijuana with Colorado, according to WDEL Radio. Other Delaware lawmakers have also spoken to lawmakers in Colorado for guidance in composing the bill and proposing specific terms for regulation and taxation. Governor John Carney, however, is a big hesitant when it comes to legal recreational marijuana.

Senator Rose-Henry said, “Law enforcement wants this bill. 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.”

She also said, “It’s going to be a learning process, and we’ve already learned a lot from Colorado and the corrections that they’ve made. One of the things I’d like to do is take a trip there, we’ve talked to them on the phone.”

Senator Rose-Henry and supporting lawmakers plan to ensure that safeguards are included in the bill when it is introduced. This should cut down on the potential for the legislation to be vetoed.

Senator Rose-Henry said, “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. 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.”

Co-chair of the Cannabis Bureau of Delaware, Zoe Patchell, says that if the bill makes it to Governor Carney’s desk, and he vetoes it, it would go against the will of the people of the State of Delaware.

Patchell said, “Delaware cannot afford to wait on this issue, and 61% of Delawareans support taxing and regulating cannabis like alcohol for adults 21 and older. So to ignore the super majority in the state, I think, would not be a good idea.”