Yo, what’s up y’all? My name’s Dan and I’m here to tell you about some crazy stuff going down in Delaware. The lawmakers in the Delaware House of Representatives just voted to make adult-use marijuana legal in the state. But hold up, before you start blazing up, you need to know that the governor hasn’t given his stamp of approval yet.
The bill passed with a vote of 28-13, which is pretty dope considering it was bipartisan and even picked up two new votes from Democrats who weren’t down with weed before. But get this, the leader of the House Democrats, Pete Schwartzkopf, was the only Democrat who said “nah” to this move.
It’s not just Pete who’s not feeling weed though. The Democratic governor of Delaware, John Carney, isn’t into it either. He vetoed a similar bill last year, so there’s a chance he might do it again.
The governor said that if this bill passes, people 21 or over can have up to one ounce of weed without getting any penalties. It also means that there won’t be any criminal charges for giving someone an ounce of weed for free. Carney ain’t too happy about it though. He said that he doesn’t want young people using it and there are still issues with its long-term effects on health and the economy.
The Democrats ain’t giving up though. They’re still pushing for this bill to pass because they think it’s what the people want. They’ve got the majority in the general assembly so they can keep trying.
One Democrat named Ed Osienski is sponsoring the new bill and he thinks there might be a way to get the governor on board. He said that if they talk with him more, maybe they can come to an agreement that won’t end in another veto.
The governor’s spokesperson said that he still doesn’t think it’s a good idea though, so things could get tricky.
So what does this bill even mean? Well, if it passes, you won’t get into trouble if you’re caught with an ounce or less of weed and you’re 21 or over. Right now, weed is decriminalized in Delaware which means you won’t go to jail for having a small amount of it.
The second part of the bill is all about regulating weed like alcohol. That means there’ll be rules for growing, selling and buying it. Plus, you’ll have to pay taxes on it just like booze.
This part of the bill needs more votes to pass though because it deals with money and taxes. But if it does pass and becomes law, Delaware would be hopping on the same train as other states who have legalized weed for adults.
So stay tuned folks because there might be some changes coming your way sooner than you think. And don’t forget to roll one up (if you’re in a legal state).