Delaware Becomes 16th Medical Marijuana State

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell Friday signed into law a medical marijuana bill approved the legislature. Delaware now becomes the 16th state, along with the District of Columbia, to approve medical marijuana.

The bill, Senate Bill 17 [12], allows people 18 and older who suffer from specified serious or debilitating medical conditions to possess up to six ounces of the herb, but they cannot grow their own. Instead, qualifying patients will be referred to one of three state-licensed and -regulated "compassion centers," one for each county in the state.

"There are so many people in Delaware who are suffering unimaginable pain that this will help, and we want to be able to do what we can to provide much-needed relief for those citizens," said Senate Majority Whip Margaret Rose Henry (D-Wilmington East), who sponsored the legislation. "I am very grateful that so many of my colleagues were able to look past the myths surrounding marijuana and into the eyes and hearts of those who were crying out for our help. Needless to say, I am profoundly grateful to Gov. Markell for his support of this important legislation."

"Today is an amazing victory for seriously ill Delaware patients, who have been waiting a very long time for the chance to use the medicine they need without fear," said Noah Mamber, legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project [13], who lobbied and mobilized patients, professionals, and grassroots activists in support of the bill. "SB17 is the most comprehensive, tightly-written medical marijuana bill in the country, and with this vote, the Delaware Legislature proved that compassion is not a red or a blue issue. It's a human issue."