[[{“value”:”
Applicants for a license to be part of Delaware’s recreational marijuana business are still waiting for their criminal background checks.
“We’re at the mercy of the FBI,” Delaware Safety and Homeland Security Secretary Joshua Bushweller recently told WDEL News. The Office of Marijuana Commissioner is under DSHS.
The state was recently informed by the FBI that its request for a service code to conduct the statutorily-required criminal background checks has been denied. The OMC said it would be working “expeditiously” with the General Assembly to develop proposed legislation that would contain criteria to satisfy the FBI.
The code is needed by the State Bureau of Identification and the Delaware Department of Justice in order to conduct the criminal checks.
This development comes months after the OMC conducted business license lotteries. OMC is currently operating without a commissioner. The first and so far only Marijuana Commissioner, Robert Coupe, resigned.
“The Office of Marijuana Commissioner had one very specific job defined by state law: to license new, legal adult-use businesses which had always included this background check process,” Delaware Cannabis Advocacy Network Executive Director Zoë Patchell said.
“We’re not hopeful that a change in legislation is going to make much of a difference in terms of approval from the FBI,” Patchell added.
In the recent WDEL interview, Bushweller said a nominee for OMC would be announced soon.
“We need to make sure we get it right. The Office of Marijuana Commissioner is certainly focused on safeguarding number-one public health, number-two deterring underage usage, and three, generating tax revenue,” Bushweller said.
According to Patchell, patience is wearing thin. The group wants a full review and investigation into why there have been so many issues surrounding implementation of the adult-use marijuana market, two years after it was approved by the Delaware General Assembly.
“With implementation botched and no end in sight, consumers need remedial measures – like home cultivation,” Patchell said.
”}]] Delaware’s implementation of legal, adult-use marijuana is grinding along…. but, another potential obstacle has popped up. Read More
