Delaware House Passes Marijuana Bill To Address Dispute With FBI That Threatens To Delay Recreational Market Launch
From toxifillers.com with love
The Delaware House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bill meant to fix an issue with the state’s marijuana legalization law that led FBI to reject its request to create a fingerprint background check system for would-be cannabis industry workers.
On the same day that Gov. Matt Meyer (D) criticized the FBI over its decision, which threatens to delay the launch of Delaware’s adult-use market, the House on Thursday approved the measure from Rep. Ed Osienski (D) in a 37-0 vote. It now heads to the Senate.
“This legislation will address needed updates to Delaware’s code that will insert language to align with the Federal Bureau of Investigation requirements,” Osienski said on the floor.
“I know this is a disappointing setback—especially for the entrepreneurs who have invested so much and the consumers who have been anxiously waiting for the legal access—but I’m optimistic that this legislation will correct what the FBI is insisting from us,” he said.
The governor had sharper words for FBI during his State of the State address, saying “FBI’s insistence that Delaware’s original recreational marijuana law is insufficient is just another egregious example of federal bureaucracy stifling state-led innovation.”
While state regulators had been planning to license the first recreational cannabis businesses in April, the enacted statute requires the background checks to be in place first.
The Office of the Marijuana Commissioner (OMC), which is responsible for regulating the market, said recently that it had worked with the State Bureau of Identification and the Delaware Department of Justice to obtain the required FBI service code before receiving a denial late last month.
Under Osienski’s bill, HB 110, the state’s current marijuana law would be amended to identify categories of people who’d need to complete fingerprint-based background checks within the cannabis industry. The hope is that will bring statute into compliance, after which point another request for the service code would be submitted to FBI.
Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, but FBI has previously granted a fingerprinting background system for Delaware’s medical cannabis program.
Late last year, OMC held a series of licensing lotteries for cannabis business to start serving adult consumers.
A total of 125 licenses will ultimately be issued, including 30 retailers, 60 cultivators, 30 manufacturers and five testing labs. Last year, regulators also detailed what portion of each category is reserved for social equity applicants, microbusinesses and general open licenses.
Regulators have also been rolling out a series of proposed regulations to stand up the forthcoming adult-use cannabis industry.
—
Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—
Meanwhile, former Gov. John Carney (D) raised eyebrows in January after making a questionable claim that “nobody” wants cannabis shops in their neighborhoods, even if there’s consensus that criminalization doesn’t work.
The then-governor last year signed several additional marijuana bills into law, including measures that would allow existing medical cannabis businesses in the state to begin recreational sales on an expedited basis, transfer regulatory authority for the medical program and make technical changes to marijuana statutes.
The dual licensing legislation is meant to allow recreational sales to begin months earlier than planned, though critics say the legislation would give an unfair market advantage to larger, more dominant businesses already operating in multiple states.
In October, Carney also gave final approval to legislation to enact state-level protections for banks that provide services to licensed marijuana businesses.
Delaware’s medical marijuana program is also being significantly expanded under a law that officially took effect last July.
The policy change removes limitations for patient eligibility based on a specific set of qualifying health conditions. Instead, doctors will be able to issue cannabis recommendations for any condition they see fit.
The new law also allows patients over the age of 65 to self-certify for medical cannabis access without the need for a doctor’s recommendation.
Kansas Governor Says It’s Time For Lawmakers To ‘Finally Legalize Medical Marijuana’
Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.
The post Delaware House Passes Marijuana Bill To Address Dispute With FBI That Threatens To Delay Recreational Market Launch appeared first on Marijuana Moment.