Cannabis in Delaware is legal for medicinal and recreational use.

Medical cannabis (2011)

In May 2011,

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Jack Markell Jack Alan Markell (born November 26, 1960) is an American politician and diplomat. He had served the United States ambassador both to Italy and to San Marino. He had served as the United States ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-oper ...

signed legislation allowing patients 18 and older to possess up to six ounces if they had certain qualifying medical conditions such as

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, and conditions that cause intractable

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, severe pain or seizures, among others. State data on patients who received marijuana cards in 2015 showed that the primary medical conditions being treated for cardholders were

pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging Stimulus (physiology), stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sense, sensory and emotional experience associated with, or res ...

(36.3%),

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s (21.6%), and cancer (9.3%). The first medical marijuana clinic in Delaware opened in Wilmington in June 2015. As of that date, some 340 Delaware residents held cards from the Delaware Health and Social Services, allowing them to purchase marijuana in order to treat their medical conditions. However, as of 2016, medical-marijuana cardholders still struggled to obtain approved cannabis. The medical marijuana legislation provided that all three of the state's counties – New Castle,

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, and

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

– must have a licensed dispensary - known in Delaware as a Compassion Center - by January 1, 2013. However, only a single facility (the Wilmington facility in New Castle County) had opened as of 2016.

Decriminalization (2015)

In June 2015, Markell signed a law that decriminalized the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana by adults. Possession of marijuana remains a

civil infraction A summary offence or petty offence is a violation in some common law jurisdictions that can be proceeded against summarily, without the right to a jury trial and/or indictment (required for an indictable offence). Canada In Canada, summary offe ...

that carries a $100 fine. The bill passed along party lines, with all Republican legislators opposing it. Under the legislation, it remains illegal for minors (persons under age 21) to possess cannabis. Additionally, smoking cannabis "in a moving vehicle, in public areas, or outdoors on private property within of a street, sidewalk or other area accessible to the public" is also a

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...

. The decriminalization bill took effect in December 2015.

Legalization proposals

There have been a few attempts to legalize marijuana in Delaware, starting in 2017 by State Rep. Helene Keeley, but such bills failed to receive the required number of votes in the Delaware legislature. Some Democratic colleagues abstained from the vote, citing concerns over the bill's cost. The most recent push to legalize Recreational marijuana in Delaware was picked up by State Rep. Ed Osienski, who attempted to get a bill passed during the 2020 general assembly session, but failed due to a lack of votes and because of the

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. Osienski reworked the bill to introduce it during the 2021 legislative session. Some of those changes included adding a '

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' and microbusiness license, through which Osienski says "they’ll get some additional help with applying and some reduction in fees."

2022 Delaware General Assembly passage

In May 2022, the

Delaware General Assembly The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 representatives. It meets at Legi ...

formally passed a bill to legalize cannabis for recreational use. On May 24, 2022, the Governor of Delaware, John Carney, vetoed the bill. On June 7, the Delaware House of Representatives failed to override Carney's veto.

2023 Delaware General Assembly passage

Delaware HB1, a legalization bill, and HB2, to regulate and tax sales, were introduced on January 20. HB1 was approved by the House on March 7, and HB2 was approved on March 9. The bills were approved by the senate on March 28, to be sent to the governor to become law. HB 1 was transmitted to the governor on April 11, and HB2 on April 14. Carney released a statement on April 21 that both bills would come into effect as law with neither his signature nor veto. He stated that although he still opposes legalization, it is time to "move on" from the issue. Legalization came into effect on April 23, 2023.

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