Milton proposes marijuana ordinance
Milton Town Council has proposed an ordinance that would prohibit the operation of numerous marijuana-related businesses.
The proposed ordinance is set to be reviewed by the planning and zoning commission at its Tuesday, July 16 meeting, with a public hearing set for Monday, Sept. 9.
Under the ordinance, which would be in the town’s zoning code, the operation of a marijuana cultivation facility, a marijuana product manufacturing facility, a marijuana testing facility, a retail marijuana store or a marijuana smoking lounge would be prohibited within the municipal boundaries of Milton.
Marijuana was legalized for recreational use in Delaware last year with the passage of House Bill 1 and House Bill 2, which spelled out the process for legalization and regulation of marijuana.
HB 1, the marijuana legalization bill, allows anyone 21 or older to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana legally. Sponsored by Rep. Ed Osienski, D-Newark, the bill prohibits public consumption, allows businesses to drug test employees and have rules against its use, and continues to penalize drivers for operating vehicles under the influence of marijuana. The bill does, however, remove possession of marijuana from the list of activities that prohibit a person from possessing a handgun.
The regulation bill, also sponsored by Osienski, creates a framework to tax and place fees on a marijuana industry, which includes funding a Justice Reinvestment Fund, under the management of the Department of Justice, where it will be used for projects to improve quality of life for communities most impacted by the prohibition of marijuana and war on drugs-era policies.
The bill also allows for 60 licenses to be issued in the first year, with 20 of them reserved for social equity applicants.
Town Solicitor Seth Thompson said the reason the ordinance was being drafted now is because the Office of the Marijuana Commissioner is set to start issuing licenses this fall. Under the law, Thompson said municipalities are able to place prohibitions on how marijuana is regulated within their towns, and doing so gets much more complicated legally once licenses are issued.
