Delaware lawmakers take another stab at creating recreational cannabis industry

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Democratic legislators are again proposing to legalize adult-use marijuana in Delaware, an idea still opposed by Democratic Gov. John Carney.

Sponsors introduced a bill they said is aimed at eliminating the illicit market for marijuana by establishing a state-licensed industry that would create jobs while padding state coffers with licensing fees and taxes.

A similar bill failed last year amid opposition from the law enforcement and business communities.

The revised legislation would allow initial authorization of the following:

  • 50 indoor and outdoor cultivation facilities
  • 10 marijuana product manufacturing facilities
  • 15 retail stores and five testing facilities

The state would collect licensing fees and a tax of 15% of the retail price of all marijuana products sold, while prohibiting citizens from growing their own marijuana for personal use.

Delaware legalized medical marijuana in 2011, but the fourth dispensary in the state opened only two months ago in Newark.

– Associated Press and Marijuana Business Daily