A second bill to create an adult-use marijuana industry in Delaware failed in the House by one vote when a lawmaker fell ill.
According to The (Wilmington) News Journal, Rep. Larry Mitchell, the House majority whip who previously has voted in favor of marijuana regulation and legalization bills, took a sick day Thursday and missed the vote for House Bill 372.
In March, HB 305, which would have legalized adult-use marijuana in the state and set up a cannabis business program, also was defeated in the House.
HB 372, named the Delaware Marijuana Control Act, would have provided for commercial production and sale of marijuana by state-licensed entities.
The measure needed a three-fifths vote – or 25 in favor – because it would have imposed a new tax.
At first, the Thursday vote was 24-14 in favor with one nonvote and two absentees, according to Wilmington radio station WDEL.
But Democrat Ed Osienski, a co-sponsor of the measure, changed his vote from yes to no.
That move potentially allows the bill to be reconsidered in June after the General Assembly returns from a two-week recess, the New Journal reported.
It’s unclear what Gov. John Carney would do if an adult-use legalization bill made it to his desk.
He has been opposed to legalization in the past.
