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Even the Marijuana Task Force doesn’t know what the Marijuana Task Force does

The task force report's Feb. 28 false-alarm passage highlights confusion amid controversy.

Some state legislators say Delaware should legalize marijuana and reap the economic benefits, while others, like AAA-MidAtlantic, disagree. (Photo by Flickr user Heather Cassano, used under a Creative Commons license)

Delaware’s Marijuana Task Force report passed Feb. 28, only it didn’t pass because the math was wrong (12 is not a majority of 25, who knew). Which means what, exactly?

Even the Task Force itself doesn’t seem to know.

Would the passage of the report have been a step toward legalized recreational cannabis in Delaware? Not really. Maybe. Maybe? Passage would say that the research in the report, which then would be used to make legislative decisions, is accurate. Is it? Some task force members aren’t sure and asked for more time to review the materials before voting, according to Matt Bittle’s coverage in Delaware State News.

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Ken Grant of AAA Mid-Atlantic, which presented research on stoned driving in states where recreational marijuana is legal, says they couldn’t even agree on the what the task force does.

Why is it all so confusing? It comes down to a facet of the Delaware State Constitution that doesn’t allow referendums on the state or local level, unlike the states that have legalized recreational marijuana. Delaware would have to implement legalization through the legislative process. The task force is meant to dig through the issues legislators will have to consider and present them in a report. The report is meant to present facts, not an endorsement or opposition. Or not, nobody knows.

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