Dover, DE: Democratic Gov. Matt Meyer vetoed legislation last week (Senate Bill 75) that sought to loosen local zoning restrictions limiting where licensed adult-use cannabis retailers can operate.
The bill would have imposed statewide rules explicitly permitting retailers to operate within 500 feet “of a place of worship, school, licensed child-care, residential treatment facility, park, or library,” and/or “within a one-half mile of another retail marijuana store.” The bill was introduced in response to some municipal lawmakers enacting more restrictive zoning laws, effectively imposing local bans on marijuana retailers.
In his veto message, Gov. Meyer said, “While I fully support the goals of implementing a safe, equitable, and accessible adult-use cannabis market in Delaware, displacing local land use authority without offering any corresponding partnership or support is not how we build durable, effective policy or trust.”
State lawmakers approved legislation legalizing the adult-use marijuana market in April 2023, but retail sales did not begin until last month. Currently, consumers are only able to purchase cannabis at approximately a dozen retail locations — all of which are existing medical cannabis dispensaries that received ‘conversion licenses’ to sell to patients and adults. Proponents of SB 75 say that the Governor’s veto will further delay consumers from gaining access to state-licensed marijuana products.
Further details on Delaware’s adult-use marijuana law are available from NORML.