A new poll conducted by the University of Delaware finds 56% support for legalizing marijuana, with just 39% opposed. Earlier this year, Rep. Helene Keeley, Sen. Bryan Townsend, and Sen. Margaret Rose Henry sponsored legislation to reduce the penalty for simple possession of marijuana from a criminal charge to a civil fine. This is a strong step in the right direction. Under current Delaware law, possessing even a small amount of marijuana is a criminal offense, carrying up to six months in jail…

The Marijuana Policy Project filed a committee with the California Secretary of State’s Office today to support a 2016 statewide ballot initiative to legalize and regulate marijuana for adult use. The new committee, the Marijuana Policy Project of California, will start raising funds immediately to help place a measure on the ballot. According to a statement from MPP Executive Director Rob Kampia: [caption id="attachment_8113" align="alignright" width="150"] Rob Kampia[/caption] “A diverse coalition…

After more than three years and numerous delays, Delaware’s first pilot medical marijuana dispensary has finally been approved! On Monday, August 11, the Department of Health and Social Services finalized a two-year agreement with the aptly named First State Compassion Center. The center will be located at an industrial park on the outskirts of Wilmington, and will begin growing medical marijuana this fall. This is great news for patients who have been patiently waiting for legal access to their…

Yesterday, the Delaware House Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee voted 6-1 to release Rep. Helene Keeley’s decriminalization bill. This bill would remove criminal penalties for the simple possession of small amounts of marijuana, and instead impose a civil fine. The proposal may now be considered on the House floor. This is a strong step towards more fiscally sound and humane marijuana policies. A March poll found that 68% of Delawareans across the political spectrum support making the possession…

Recent polling released by the Marijuana Policy Project found more than two-thirds of Delawareans support replacing criminal penalties for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana with a $100 civil fine. The poll also found a majority of voters (51%) support making marijuana legal for adults, and regulating and taxing it like alcohol. Under current Delaware law, it is a criminal offense for a person to possess a small amount of marijuana, and he or she can be sentenced to up to six months in jail…

The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services has finalized regulations for a single medical marijuana compassion center. Unfortunately, the pilot center will be limited to cultivating 150 plants — far too few to meet patients’ needs. MPP has submitted comments urging the department to revise the regulations to ensure a workable program. While the governor and DHHS refused to lift the cap now, there is a possibility of doing so later if and when the current regulations prove too limited. DHHS…

[caption id="attachment_7170" align="alignright" width="260"] Gov. Jack Markell[/caption] MPP welcomed Delaware Gov. Jack Markell’s August announcement that he would implement the compassion center program, but our enthusiasm was tempered by the fact that he did so on the condition that the program was initially limited to one compassion center that could grow only 150 plants. Since his announcement, the Department of Justice has released new guidance, which makes it clear that these restrictions…

Earlier this month, the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services issued proposed regulations for a single medical marijuana compassion center that could only cultivate 150 plants – far too few to meet patients’ needs. MPP submitted comments on behalf of Delaware’s patients and potential providers urging the department to revise the regulations to ensure a workable program. The regulations unnecessarily restrict the compassion center program to a single pilot center that can possess no more…

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell (D) informed state lawmakers Thursday that the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will be moving forward with drafting regulations for a medical marijuana dispensary program. This is very welcome news that is long overdue. In a letter to the legislators who sponsored the state's medical marijuana law, Markell said: As a result of our review of policies in Rhode Island, New Jersey and other states, I have become convinced that proceeding with our program, while…

The Obama administration's stunning betrayal of medical marijuana patients claimed a new victim today. Delaware Gov. Jack Markell announced that he would halt the implementation of the state's medical marijuana dispensary program following a vague and threatening letter from U.S. Attorney Charles Oberly III. Oberly's letter, dated February 9 but made public today, says that patients and individual caregivers would not be federal enforcement priorities, but that entities distributing marijuana "could"…