The quest to legalize recreational marijuana has once again failed in the Delaware General Assembly, as House Democrats could not capture the necessary votes on Thursday night to pass the bill.
The legislation, introduced by Rep. Ed Osienski, a Newark Democrat, was the first legislation of its kind to make it to the House floor for a vote since a similar bill failed in 2018. It included significant revisions in order to gain the support of the Black Caucus, which effectively killed the bill last year after raising concerns regarding the lack of racial justice.
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But it still wasn’t enough on Thursday night: Democrats needed nearly every single member of their party to support the bill. Two Democrats did not vote, and Speaker of the House Pete Schwartzkopf voted no on the bill.
In order to survive, the bill needed the support of Republicans, but no GOP lawmakers voted for the legislation.
After nearly a two-hour recess on Thursday, Rep. Mike Smith, R-Pike Creek Valley, introduced four last-minute amendments, some of which sought to limit those who could receive licenses if they had certain drug convictions. Only one of Smith’s amendments passed, which wouldn’t have imposed any requirements on employers.
“I came here today to vote for the legalization of marijuana,” Smith said to lawmakers. “I went to roll call on those amendments just to prove that you guys do not care about bipartisanship. And this state needs to change.
“And I hope people will remember this moment because you killed the legalization of marijuana.”
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Eighteen states, including New York and New Jersey, and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana. Maryland failed to pass similar legislation last year.
Delaware polls have shown that voters are increasingly supportive of legalizing marijuana. With mid-term elections in November, every lawmaker is up for election, due to redistricting.
Even if the bill did pass the House, it would have faced an uphill battle as Gov. John Carney does not support legalizing weed.
Osienski, the bill’s sponsor, said in a statement that he believed lawmakers “owed it to the residents of Delaware to hold a full floor debate and vote on this issue.”
“While I’m deeply disappointed by the outcome,” he said, “I still firmly believe that Delaware is more than capable of successfully enacting policies for safe and legal cannabis, and I will continue working on this issue to win the support to make it a reality.”
Contact Meredith Newman at (302) 256-2466 or at mnewman@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MereNewman.
