The State Senate’s override of Gov. Matt Meyer’s Senate Bill 75 veto in January highlights disagreement between the governing bodies on local regulation of cannabis businesses.
The Sussex County Council relaxed its ordinance last year to allow them within half a mile of city limits. But it kept a three-mile buffer between cannabis businesses and churches, schools, colleges, and substances use treatment facilities.
State Senator Trey Paradee is the primary sponsor of SB 75, which relaxes county restrictions– like the Sussex County Council’s– on cannabis businesses. It mandates that counties can prevent cannabis businesses from setting up shop within half a mile of each other. And it loosens the buffer zone for churches, schools, substances use treatment facilities, and other public facilities to 500 feet.
Senate Bill 75 got voted through by the State Senate in June along party lines, and so did the veto override last month.
Paradee said the override is not meant as disrespect to Gov. Meyer. He added since Delaware legalized recreational cannabis, the rollout of its cannabis market has been slow.
“There's going to be differences of opinion between the executive branch and the legislature from time to time,” he said. “The reality is that it's been three years since we've legalized recreational marijuana, and we're still at a point where we really haven't progressed.”
Delaware opened its first recreational dispensaries in August. And Paradee said these licenses went to the medical dispensaries that were already open in the state.
“(Cannabis) companies that want to be business owners in Delaware – they literally cannot find a place to open their stores, and that's really the problem,” Paradee said.
Gov. Meyer vetoed the bil bill in August, defending the county’s right to set its own restrictions.
Though the Sussex County council relaxed its ordinance in November, Paradee said it did very little to free up possible spaces for businesses to open.
"When you really dig into it, it hasn't moved the needle at all. And I'm pretty sure that the folks on Sussex County Council,... I think they had a pretty good idea that it really didn't change things," said Paradee. "For all intents and purposes, recreational marijuana is illegal in Sussex County as a result of their manipulation of their zoning ordinances."
Delaware is one of 24 states to legalize recreational use. And Paradee adds these rules are slowing the rollout of Delaware’s recreational cannabis market, making a veto override necessary.
“You look at all the states that have legalized it, I don't think there's any state that has had a worse experience than Delaware,” he said.
The Senate overrise of SB 75 is just the first step. For bill to become law, it still needs a three-fifths majority vote in the House to overrule Meyer’s decision.
“I think we need to get the veto override through the house and allow these businesses to get started,” he said.
Paradee said he has no plans to introduce legislation that changes zoning authority for municipalities.
“I think that's pretty clear that that would not be supported in the legislature,” Paradee said. But he is open to having conversations with city and county leadership to find solutions.
