Delaware’s marijuana bills are bad for the state and should be vetoed
Christopher Tremoglie
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Last month, the Delaware General Assembly passed two bills that centered on legalizing marijuana. The bills now head to the governor’s desk for final approval. If signed, they would make Delaware the 22nd state to legalize the drug.
Delaware Gov. John Carney (D) should veto them. The legalization of marijuana makes states worse, not better.
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House Bill 1 removes “all penalties for use or possession of a personal use quantity of marijuana and marijuana accessories” and sets the age for legal marijuana use and possession at 21. House Bill 2 pertains to creating the Delaware Marijuana Control Act, which “regulates and taxes marijuana for recreational use.” It establishes the guidelines for “production, manufacture, and sale in a legal recreational marijuana industry.”
“We are extremely disappointed by the passage of this reckless legislation, which threatens the health and safety of all Delaware residents, especially young people, communities of color, and those suffering from addiction. These bills lack basic protections for public health and safety, including potency limits, and would inflict the same damage to the people of Delaware that we’ve seen first-hand in other states,” Dr. Kevin Sabet, CEO and president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said in a statement.
Sabet is correct. It’s no secret that the push to legalize marijuana has enjoyed an immense propaganda push in popular culture. Surveys show that most Americans support legalizing marijuana; a recent poll revealed that approximately 67% of the country favors doing so. However, there are many detrimental health conditions linked to marijuana use that often get ignored or swept under the rug.
For example, a recent study from the University of Ottawa found that there is a strong link between smoking marijuana and emphysema. Research has also shown that using marijuana has led to troubling trends such as increased rates of “asthma in teenagers, children accidentally ingesting edibles, and simultaneous use of alcohol and marijuana among young adults.”
Additional studies have linked marijuana use to an increased risk of “depression and suicide,” driving deaths while under the influence of marijuana, pediatric poisonings from cannabis, and other dangerous impacts in children, such as stunted developments in “cognitive abilities, such as memory, attention, motivation, and learning.”
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“Gov. Carney, like President Biden, has repeatedly demonstrated tremendous courage in standing up to the big money and influence campaigns of the addiction-for-profit pot industry,” Sabet said. “We urge him to continue to fight for Delaware families and communities by vetoing these bills. The governor has expressed very real and valid concerns about the serious risks associated with a commercial marijuana market and understands that encouraging more drug use only serves to hurt the future of the state. We hope he takes swift action against these bills.”
Marijuana does not deserve the positive reputation it receives. It’s a deceptively dangerous narcotic that does more harm than good. It’s bad for Delaware and bad for the nation, and Gov. Carney should veto any bills in Delaware facilitating its legalization.