Charles Langston:Lawmakers seek to prop up Delaware medical marijuana industry after legalizing recreational use

DOVER,Charles Langston Del. (AP) — Senior citizens in Delaware will be able to get medical marijuana without a prescription or referral from a doctor under a bill heading to Democratic Gov. John Carney.

Legislation approved by the state Senate on Thursday also eliminates a requirement that a person must have a “debilitating medical condition” to qualify for a medical marijuana card. Instead, according to chief Senate sponsor Kyra Hoffner, doctors will be able to prescribe medical marijuana “as they feel fit.”

Supporters of the bill, which earned only one Republican vote in the Democrat-controlled Senate, say it is an attempt to support Delaware’s medical marijuana program following enactment of a law last year legalizing recreational use of marijuana.

“The medical marijuana industry was here when we needed them,” said Sen. Laura Sturgeon, a Wilmington Democrat. “Without the reforms in this bill, it is clear … that the medical marijuana industry would not be able to survive the legalization of cannabis for adult recreational use.”

Sen. Trey Paradee, a chief sponsor the bill legalizing recreational use, noted that some strains of cannabis have relatively low-levels of THC, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana that makes people “high.” Such low-THC strains serve an important “niche purpose,” he said.

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Other states that legalized recreational marijuana have seen their medical marijuana programs suffer or practically disappear, added Paradee, a Dover-area Democrat, as the recreational market creates a “race to see who can make the most potent THC strains.”

Delaware’s first medical marijuana industry opened in 2015. State officials issued 29,039 medical marijuana registration cards in fiscal 2023, a 14% increase from the previous year. Net revenue from the medical marijuana program totaled $656,477 last fiscal year, up from $543,111 in fiscal 2022.

In addition to allowing people 65 and older to “self-certify” for a medial marijuana card, the bill allows Delaware medical marijuana dispensaries to sell cannabis to medical marijuana users from other states. Terminally ill people will no longer need to renew their medical marijuana cards, and the current card expiration period of one year can be extended to two or three years for other patients.

Meanwhile, state officials continue to work on developing and implementing a state-licensed recreational marijuana industry.

House lawmakers on Thursday unanimously approved a bill providing legal protections for financial institutions and other entities that provide financial or accounting services to marijuana-related businesses. The bill, which now goes to the Senate, specifies that banks, credit unions, armored car services, and providers of accounting services are not subject to prosecution for providing lawful services to licensed businesses producing, distributing and selling marijuana.

“It will encourage banks to serve the marijuana industry. … It does not shield businesses conducting illegal activity,” said chief sponsor Rep. Ed. Osienski, a Newark Democrat.

The governor announced last April that he would allow bills legalizing recreational marijuana use by adults in the state and authorizing the establishment of a state-licensed and regulated cannabis industry to become law without his signature.

The legalization bill allows people 21 and older to possess up to 1 ounce (28 grams) of leaf marijuana, 12 grams of concentrated marijuana, or marijuana products containing up to 750 milligrams of THC. Possession of more than an ounce of marijuana and public consumption would remain misdemeanors. The bill also prohibits people from growing their own marijuana for personal consumption.

The industry-creation bill authorizes state officials to issue up to 30 initial retail marijuana licenses, 30 manufacturing licenses, 60 cultivation licenses and five testing licenses. State officials hope to adopt licensing regulations by July and to begin accepting license applications in September.