House Bill 469

While the consumption of marijuana while driving is an unclassified misdemeanor under § 4764(d) of Title 16 of the Delaware Code, this Act also makes the consumption of marijuana while driving a motor vehicle violation, like alcohol currently is. Thus, this Act enables law enforcement officers to charge a lesser offense and to use a traffic ticket rather than a criminal summons or warrant. This would enable an individual to avoid a conviction for a misdemeanor, as well as provide a better understanding to the general public that marijuana usage while operating a motor vehicle has the same dangers of impairment as drinking an alcoholic beverage. Section 2 of this Act eliminates the definition of “consume” to remove the requirement that the officer observe the act in order for the act to be a crime since “consume” should be given its ordinary meaning for consistency with other provisions in the Delaware Code. Section 3 of this Act provides for a license loss for the consumption of marijuana by those under the age of 21 who drive, operate, or have actual physical control of a motor vehicle. This places the consumption of marijuana in this context on par with the consumption of alcohol. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 28 of Article IV of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to create a new crime within the jurisdiction of the Court of Common Pleas, Family Court, or Justice of the Peace Court or to expand the scope of an existing crime within the jurisdiction of the Court of Common Pleas, Family Court, or Justice of the Peace Court.