Delaware beach town’s council voted unanimously to prohibit marijuana dispensaries or production facilities from being built within town limits.
By Mark Eichmann, WHYY News
The first legal marijuana sales in Delaware aren’t expected to happen until late 2024, and while it’s not clear where the new dispensaries will go, we now know where there won’t be a weed store.
Dewey Beach Town Council approved an ordinance earlier this month prohibiting marijuana sales or growing operations from being built in town. The move comes just two months after state lawmakers approved legislation legalizing recreational marijuana.
Dewey Police Chief Constance Speake spoke in support of the ban on sales at a council hearing earlier this month. She said having marijuana sales in town could lead to public use on Dewey streets.
“People just don’t read the laws. They’re going to go buy their product and then they’re going to be out on the street smoking dope,” Speake said. “You’re going to have a lot more people going up and buying their dope and then they’re going to be right on the street corner smoking dope all over town. And that’s not what we want.”
Commissioner Paul Bauer agreed and said marijuana sales wouldn’t be a fit for Dewey, which has been working to shed its image as a “party town.”
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