Delaware’s second medical marijuana dispensary opened Friday in Lewes, nearly two years after a first facility opened its doors in Wilmington.

Both dispensaries are operated by First State Compassion Center, which previously won bids with the state.

The Lewes site is located at 12000 Old Vine Boulevard. It is open six days a week from 10:30 to 6:30 weekdays and and 10 to 4 Saturdays.

“Our foremost goal is the care we take of our patients, and that includes having the best medicine and the most caring staff,” FSCC President Mark Lally said in a statement.

A bill legalizing the recreational use of marijuana in Delaware has cleared its first legislative hurdle.

The legislation, which was released Wednesday by the House Revenue & Finance Committee and now goes to the full House for a vote, regulates and taxes marijuana in the same manner as alcohol.

The bill doesn't allow people to grow their own marijuana but allows adults over age 21 to legally possess less than an ounce of marijuana for personal use.

The legislation would create a commission to regulate, license and tax the marijuana industry, allowing licenses for up to 40 retail stores.

Businesses would pay an application fee of $5,000 and a $10,000 licensing fee every two years. 

USA

New York City
Parade Assembly: 11:00 a.m. | West 31st & Broadway, Koreatown, NYC
Parade Start Time: 12:30 p.m. | Parade will march to Union Square (Route South on Broadway)
Rally: 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | Union Square South Plaza
“The NYC Cannabis Parade is the longest running public expression of drug policy reform in New York City, with roots as far back as the early 70’s. This event have gone by many different monikers, but our purpose remains the same, to spread awareness throughout the world! In 1999, the Million Marijuana March brand exploded and has since turned into a annual event held in hundreds of cities across dozens of countries.”

If you think supporters of legalizing marijuana are all pot-smokers and hippies, think again.

After winning several legislative victories over the past few years, a close-knit corps of advocates is putting its full weight behind the Holy Grail of marijuana reform: Legislation that would make Delaware the ninth state to fully legalize, regulate and tax cannabis.

“We’re so close we can taste it,” said Cynthia Ferguson, executive director of the Delaware branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

How did Ferguson and her comrades get this far? By eschewing what they see as outdated clichés about tie-dyes and Cheech and Chong movies and arming themselves with arguments rooted in social justice, fiscal policy and economic development.

Delaware's first bill to legalize recreational marijuana is expected to be unveiled today.

The draft legislation reportedly would allow state residents 21 and older to purchase up to an ounce of cannabis from dozens of stores authorized to sell the drug, which is now limited only to patients enrolled in the state's medical marijuana program.

The bill is expected to be formally introduced by chief sponsors Rep. Helene Keeley and Sen. Margaret Rose Henry, both Wilmington Democrats.

Henry, who penned Delaware's 2011 medical marijuana bill, first announced plans to seek legalization for recreational consumption last fall.