Lawmaker’s sick day causes recreational marijuana bill to fail by 1 vote in Delaware House

The pursuit to create a recreational marijuana industry in Delaware hit a bump on Thursday, as a bill seeking to regulate the growing and selling of weed failed in the House by one vote.

Rep. Larry Mitchell, House majority whip, was ill and could not vote, said House spokesman Drew Volturo. Mitchell is a co-sponsor of HB 372, the bill that failed, and has voted for marjiuana legalization and regulation bills in the past.

Just after the House vote failed, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Ed Osienski, changed his vote to “no,” which allows for the opportunity of another roll call vote.

“Coming into today, I thought it was going to be a good day,” Osienski said. “This whole thing has been up and down, up and down. This was a down.”

Osienski said he believes another attempt for a vote will be made in early June, when the General Assembly returns from its two-week recess.

Rep. Bill Bush was the only Democrat to vote against the legislation. This time, the bill gained the support of Rep. Stephanie T. Bolden and House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf. The speaker, a former police officer, had previously been vocal about his concerns with legalizing marijuana. [Read More @ Delaware Online]