Laurel officials are being asked by town management to consider how the municipality will address potential marijuana retail sales in the future. Town Manager Jamie Smith brought back the issue during the Monday, Oct. 21 meeting of Mayor and Council seeking consideration.
“Approximately a year ago, I brought this up for discussion,” she said. “As you are aware, the state of Delaware has passed a bill that legalizes marijuana and the sale of marijuana. Our zoning ordinance does not address it either way. That’s something that we need to decide, either we’re going to allow it or we’re not going to allow it because we are having more and more people call to inquire about opening up marijuana sales facilities.”
Smith said she did not expect a great deal of discussion at the Monday meeting, but moreover wanted council members to share with her any questions that could be looked into and brought back to the council to support a future time of council discussions.
“I can reach out to other towns and inquire about how they may be addressing these issues,” she said. “I can put together a collaboration of information that you as individuals may be interested in having before decisions made. But at some point in time, in the very near future, we do have to make a decision.”
Smith said in making marijuana sales legal in Delaware, the state did not provide any details regarding regulations. “I feel maybe the state kind of put the cart before the horse in this marijuana legalization decision. But, we can be proactive and not wait until after the fact and be behind the eight ball.”
Councilman Jonathon Kellam said he is aware that the county has addressed the issue of marijuana sales and has enacted stipulations. “Well, I know there’s stipulations that the county actually put on. I got some information from them just because I kind of thought we would be here. Six months ago, I got some information,” he said. “While you’re looking, you can check with the county. I know we are a town, but this helps address some outside areas that may be coming into town. So I just want to make sure that we’re all in compliance with our state and county regulations.”
In an effort to explain why she is bringing the issue of marijuana sales up before council, Smith said because the state took action to legalize marijuana retail sales, it has been left up to the municipalities to decide on how it wants to proceed. “Laurel needs to decide whether this is a type of business that you would want within your municipality,” she said. “So a decision has to be made either way because people do call, they do inquire if it’s something that they can open up given it is allowed in the state. So we have to do our due diligence and either say ‘yay’ or ‘nay.’”
It was also clarified that the issue of marijuana sales keep is being considered only regarding retail sales as a business venture.
When Delaware legalized marijuana in the spring of 2023, it became the 22nd state to legalize recreational marijuana. At the time, Gov. John Carney allowed two bills to become law without his signature, allowing him to avoid personally supporting the bills, instead yielding to the will of the legislature.
Anyone 21 years of age or older with a government ID, such as a driver’s license, can purchase a predetermined, “personal use” amount of marijuana: One ounce or less of leaf marijuana, 12 grams or less of concentrated cannabis, or cannabis products containing 750 milligrams or less of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol.
In Delaware, it continues to be illegal to consume marijuana in public, and employers can continue to enforce their own zero-tolerance drug policies.