Delawre may not see passage marijuana legalization during the remaining two years of Gov. John Carney’s term.
An effort to override Carney’s veto of a bill that would take away civil penalties for small amounts of marijuana could only muster 20 votes in the House. The vote failed by a 20-20 margin. It needed a three-fifths majroity.
Carney failed to be swayed by arguments that included signs that law enforcement targets Blacks in marijuana enforcement. That appeared to be the case in a Georgia county where white deputies pulled over a bus carrying the Delaware State University lacrosse team and searched luggage for marijuana.
Based on a video, deputies might have mistakenly believed tht marijuana wsa legal in Delaware. It is now legal in neighboring New Jerwey.
Longtime author of the bill Rep. Ed Osienski, D, Newark-Brookside, issued the following statement:
“I’m disappointed in the outcome of today’s vote to override Governor Carney’s veto of House Bill 371. Keeping marijuana illegal will not make our communities safer. People who want to access marijuana will still be able to purchase it. This means that money will continue to flow into the illegal market.
“Today’s veto attempt was a difficult task, as I didn’t have enough votes in my own caucus alone – only 23 members initially voted for HB 371. I didn’t have the support of all three Republicans who voted for the bill, which put the veto override out of reach. However, I felt it was important to the advocates and supporters who have fought for a safe, legal, regulated cannabis industry to see this process through to the end.
“Unless and until Governor Carney changes his stance on legalizing adult recreational marijuana, we will be at a standstill on this issue.”
A statement from the House Republican Caucus noted that the veto of the small scale bill dooms a companion measure that wold set up a tax and regulatory framework for legalized weed.
The caucus noted that six House members who previously backed the bill did not support defying the governor’s veto.
