The Delaware House of Representatives passed a bill to legalize and regulate marijuana sales on Thursday, according to Marijuana Moment.
HB 372, which would set up a regulatory framework for the recreational cannabis market, received 23 votes in support and 15 against. The bill did not advance because it didn't get a three-fifths supermajority needed to be approved.
The basic legislation HB 371, which requires a simple majority to pass and would allow adults 21 and older to possess and share up to an ounce of cannabis, was sent to the governor's desk last week.
The bill that would have done both goals was killed when it fell short of the required three-fifths supermajority vote on the floor last month, which is why both legislations were sponsored by Rep. Ed Osienski D who opted for a two-track approach to reform.
The legislation creates a legal framework to license and regulate a new industry that will create well-paying jobs for Delawareans while striking a blow to the criminal element that profits from the thriving illegal market for marijuana in our state, Osienski said.
Osienski's idea that advancing non-commercial legalization through the legislature would nudge colleagues to approve the complementary bill that provides for a commercial marijuana market was struck down on Thursday.
Osienski sank his yes vote to no to secure the right to call for the measure's reconsideration once more after he realized that the measure was poised to fail.
The path seems to be going in the right direction, even though the legalization process in Delaware has been bumpy and complex.
Jax James, NORML's state policy manager said it is important that HB 371 be signed into law so that the consequences of prohibition can cease immediately. The legalization of cannabis possession, the creation of a regulated market, and provisions from the Justice Reinvestment Funds will begin the process of reversing decades of discriminatory, harmful, and fundamentally unfair cannabis laws.