Delaware’s recreational cannabis market is still in its infancy, but one lawmaker wants to make sure those who need weed for medical reasons can get it.
Marijuana has been legal in the First State since April 2023, but Delaware dispensaries still cannot sell to anyone without a medical card.
House Bill 285, sponsored by Rep. Ed Osienski (D-Dist. 24), looks to expand access to those medical cards.
The bill would remove regulations that require people to have a debilitating illness in order to qualify for a registry identification card and would allow out-of-state card holders to use them here.
Still, some believe the federal government should have a say in all this first.
“I think until they change the federal law you are going to have an issue with marijuana no matter what,” Ray Antal shared.
If the bill is signed into law, health-care providers would make the determination of whether a patient has a diagnosed medical condition for which the patient would receive therapeutic or palliative benefit from the use of medical marijuana.
Supporters, like Marcus Hook of Dover, think this would stop people from buying illegally.
“You wouldn’t have the guys on the street corners doing the same thing where the price is almost the same and people could get the real stuff from the dispensary and it would be totally legit,” he said.
Others like Greg Lake believe illegal sales are the biggest issue.
“I can go to the streets I don’t have to go to the dispensary,” Lake remarked. “But, I like to go to the dispensary because I like different flavors and stuff like that.”
Under HB285 people 65 and older could self-certify their qualification for a registry identification card without a written certification from a health-care provider.
The bill would also authorize the state to issue registry identification cards with one, two or three-year expiration dates. It requires the issuance of a registry identification card with an indefinite expiration date where the qualifying patient has a terminal illness.
The House Health and Human Development Committee will consider it when the General Assembly reconvenes in January.