In 2011, Gov. Jack Markell signed the Delaware Medical Marijuana Act into law only to suspend the program less than a year later in response to pressure from the U.S. Department of Justice. In August 2013, Markell announced his intention to reboot the program with a goal of creating one pilot medical marijuana distribution center—known as a compassion center—sometime in 2015. By law, the compassion center will be limited to 150 plants. By comparison, the medical marijuana laws of Rhode Island and Michigan allow each patient to cultivate up to 12 plants in their home. Washington state allows 15 plants.
Recent litigation suggests further delays in getting Delaware’s medical marijuana program truly off the ground. On April 16, 2014, a lawsuit was filed against Mark Lally, the president of First State Compassion Center, the nonprofit selected by Markell to operate Delaware’s only medical marijuana dispensary. In the suit, plaintiff A. Judson Bennett alleges that Lally breached an agreement to help Bennett seek Delaware’s lone medical marijuana license and instead began working for a rival group, Sigal Consulting LLC. Lally quickly moved to dismiss the action.
