The 12th Annual Global Cannabis March will take place Saturday in Rehoboth Beach. The march will begin at North Boardwalk and Surfside Place at 1:30 – and will end at the Bandstand with a rally. The Global Cannabis March unites advocates from around the globe to collectively raise awareness and demand meaningful cannabis policy reform. The Rehoboth event, organized locally by Delaware CAN, will highlight growing concerns regarding Delaware’s troubling market launch, a call for increased transparency from regulators and advocate for additional state legislative reforms. While Delaware legalized adult-use cannabis two years ago, the implementation process has been delayed due to several complications – including Delaware being denied a service code this past March by the FBI – for a second time. The service code is required to conduct federal background checks on cannabis business applicants.
Additional information from Delaware CAN:
The request was first denied by the FBI in December, just after operational licenses for cultivation and manufacturing were originally required to be issued.
After learning of the delay at the Marijuana Act Oversight Committee earlier this year, Delaware CAN was first to break the news about the FBI background check delay in a February press release, which was immediately followed by a press release issued by the Office of Marijuana Commissioner that largely understated and minimized the issue to the media.
Legislation to address the FBI concerns was fast tracked in April and signed into law last week by the Governor. The proposed background check process now must be resubmitted to the FBI for approval, with no clear, determined timeline or guarantee of success.
Adding to the many challenges, local governments across the state have passed restrictive zoning ordinances for legal cannabis businesses. Most local municipalities in Sussex, including Rehoboth Beach, have passed full bans.
Sussex County Council zoning is so limited it effectively bans all legal retail cannabis businesses throughout the county, – a move advocates say is beyond the county’s statutory authority.
“Sussex County’s zoning restrictions go beyond what’s allowed under state law; however, the Attorney General’s office has declined to intervene” co-organizer and Delaware CAN Vice President, John Sybert said. “The county-wide defacto-ban undermines the will of the majority of Delawareans who supported legalization and could leave Sussex County residents with no access to legal cannabis at all.”
Legislation introduced last month in the Delaware Senate aims to curb excessive county restrictions, but does not address individual municipality bans. The measure passed the Senate before the legislative break and awaits a vote in the House Economic Development and Banking Committee.
Advocates are concerned that the bill does not go far enough and wants the legislation to mirror zoning for alcohol businesses.
“Delaware is still a long way from treating cannabis like alcohol, “Patchell said. “The current approach to legalization is uncompetitive with other legal states as close as Maryland and is employing strict policies that will leave the First State well behind.”
Governor Meyer recently named a nominee as the new commissioner, a position that has been vacant since Rob Coupe resigned in January.
Coup, former law enforcement officer turned regulator, was appointed by the previous Governor and staunch legalization opponent, John Carney.
The Senate will hold a confirmation hearing for the new commissioner after the legislature reconvenes this month.
The 12th Annual Global Cannabis March will take place Saturday in Rehoboth Beach. The march will begin at North Boardwalk and Surfside Place at 1:30 – and will end at the Bandstand with a rally. The Global Cannabis March unites advocates from around the globe to collectively raise awareness and dem Read More
