Gov. Matt Meyer signs House Bill 110 to update requirements for FBI background checks for marijuana business license holders.
House Bill 110 was introduced by State Rep. Ed Osienski (D-Newark) early this month when the FBI denied background checks for recreational marijuana business license holders who have been waiting on the sidelines to begin operations.
The FBI said Delaware Code lacked necessary explicit language identifying who is required to obtain a background check.
But with the codification of HB 110, the Office of the Marijuana Commissioner can re-request the necessary service code to conduct the statutorily required checks.
"I am grateful to Governor Meyer and my colleagues in the General Assembly for getting this legislation to the finish line as quickly as possible," said Rep. Osienski in a statement. "With HB 110 now law, I’m hopeful the Office of the Marijuana Commissioner will be able to secure the necessary approvals to establish the background check system needed to move Delaware’s adult-use cannabis industry forward."
The background check process has been cited as the major delay in handing out conditional licenses to those who were selected via a lottery system late last year to either open a cultivation, manufacturing, testing or retail business.
One a business is granted a conditional license, they have 18 months to become fully operational.
The Office of the Marijuana Commissioner had initially hoped to have the market running by March or April of this year, but it remains unclear when Delaware’s adult-use recreational market will officially open.
“Delaware’s recreational cannabis industry is going to create good-paying jobs and provide critical revenue for the state to help pay for schools, housing, and healthcare. House Bill 110 will strengthen our background check requirements, align our practices with federal standards, and safeguard public trust,” Gov. Meyer said in a statement. “I want to thank Majority Whip Osienski for his swift leadership in addressing this issue through legislation. As we implement these measures, we’ll keep pressing the federal government to end the bureaucracy standing in the way of getting this industry launched quickly and with integrity.”
Earlier this week, Gov. Meyer named cannabis law expert Joshua Sanderlin as the office’s new commissioner, another crucial step in moving the market to open.
