The Delaware state House legislature passed a bill on Tuesday that would allow people to have their bodies composted rather than buried or cremated.

According to the Associated Press, the practice known as “natural organic reduction” was passed by a vote of 37-2 and now goes to Governor John Carney’s desk for ultimate authorization or denial. 

This bill would not allow people to just toss their dead relatives on their backyard compost pile willy-nilly. The process would still have to be undertaken by licensed morticians and otherwise approved handlers of dead people so as not to create a very uncomfortable and smelly situation for neighbors and such. 

The process of human composting, according to the Associated Press report, takes about 30 days or more depending on the process and is performed in a large tank where the body is mixed with wood chips, straw and other organic materials much like traditional compost of non-human materials. The mixture is exposed to warm air, turned periodically and after full decomposition it would be returned to the family of the deceased to be used in the garden, to plant trees, vegetables or whatever they please. 

“At the time of laying in, our staff places the body into a composting vessel surrounded by a mixture of wood chips, alfalfa, and straw carefully calibrated for each individual,” said Recompose, a Washington-based human composting service on their website. “Much like the moment when a body is interred into the earth during a burial, the laying in represents a moment of transition. The vessel is closed and the transformation into soil begins.”

Chief sponsor of the bill, Rep. Sean Lynn told the Associated Press that the practice is considered a “gentle, respectful, environmentally friendly death care option.”

“Natural organic reduction is a sophisticated process that applies cutting-edge technology and engineering to accelerate the natural process of turning a body into soil,” Rep. Lynn said to the Associated Press.

If the bill passes the governor’s desk, Delaware would become the eighth state to legalize human composting behind Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, California, New York and Nevada. Rep. Lynn said that soil testing in these states of compost made from human remains has shown the soil to be “high quality and regenerative.”

This practice has been hailed by environmental activists as less energy-consuming than cremation and more environmentally friendly than other traditional burial methods, especially those that utilize chemicals like formaldehyde. The process also does not add to the need for more cemetery space, which a Georgia cemetery owner estimated to be over 1 million acres of land in the United States alone. 

“My first reaction was: Why haven’t we done this before? It’s not really a new idea. It’s just new-ish that we’re applying it to humans.” said Jennifer DeBruyn, an environmental microbiology professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville to CNBC in February of 2023.

The language of the Delaware bill would preclude human remains from being used for composting should they contain any radioactive implants such as those used to treat cancer without the need for surgery. Remains confirmed to have certain infections such as Ebola or neurodegenerative disorders such as mad cow disease would also not be eligible under the law if passed. More specific regulations are slated to be developed over the next year if the bill is passed. 

“We’ve got 29-year-olds in Miami signing up. Young people are going to teach us how to die better,” said Micah Truman to CNBC, CEO of Return Home, a Seattle-based human composting facility.

One might think this process would be cheaper than traditional burial services but it can actually be a bit more expensive given the cost of materials. For instance, Recompose charges about $7,000 for their human composting services whereas the average cost of cremation in the same state is about $6,028 according to Choice Mutual. Burials do tend to cost a bit more in most states, however. 

Seeing as how this is High Times, I would be remiss if I did not mention, in writing where my legal representatives can see it, that after I die I would like my body to be composted and used to grow cannabis plants, peyote cacti and psilocybin mushrooms.

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Recreational marijuana became legal in Delaware on Sunday as Democratic Governor John Carney allowed two bills to legalize adult-use cannabis to become law without his signature. The measures, House Bill 1 and House Bill 2, legalize the possession of marijuana for adults and establish a legal framework for regulated recreational cannabis production and sales. Carney, who vetoed similar legislation last year, announced late last week that he would let the bills become law, although he added that he still has reservations about the measure.

“These two pieces of legislation remove all state-level civil and criminal penalties from simple marijuana possession and create a highly regulated industry to conduct recreational marijuana sales in Delaware,” Carney said in a statement on Friday afternoon. “As I’ve consistently said, I believe the legalization of recreational marijuana is not a step forward. I support both medical marijuana and Delaware’s decriminalization law because no one should go to jail for possessing a personal use quantity of marijuana. And today, they do not.”

The bills were passed by bipartisan, veto-proof majorities in both chambers of the Delaware legislature last month. House Bill 1 (HB 1) removes all penalties for possession of a personal use quantity of marijuana for adults 21 years of age and older. House Bill 2 (HB 2) creates a regulatory framework to govern the cultivation and sale and possession of marijuana, including provisions that provide opportunities for small businesses to be licensed and ensure that people living in areas disproportionately affected by decades of marijuana have access to the new legal market for recreational cannabis.

HB 1 became effective on Sunday, making Delaware the 22nd state in the nation to legalize cannabis for adults. HB 2 will become effective on Thursday, according to the governor’s announcement last week.

“After five years of countless meetings, debates, negotiations and conversations, I’m grateful we have reached the point where Delaware has joined a growing number of states that have legalized and regulated adult recreational marijuana for personal use,” Representative Ed Osienski, the sponsor of both bills, said in a statement after Carney announced he would let the bills become law. “We know that more than 60% of Delawareans support the legalization of marijuana for adult recreational use, and more than two-thirds of the General Assembly agreed.”

Carney’s veto of cannabis legalization bills last year marked the first time a Democratic governor had taken such a move. And while he is acquiescing to the inevitable by letting the bills become law this year, he noted that he is still opposed to the idea.

“I want to be clear that my views on this issue have not changed. And I understand there are those who share my views who will be disappointed in my decision not to veto this legislation,” said Carney. “I came to this decision because I believe we’ve spent far too much time focused on this issue, when Delawareans face more serious and pressing concerns every day. It’s time to move on.”

The governor added that despite his personal opposition, he was allowing the cannabis legalization bills to become law out of respect for the legislative process. Osienki praised Carney for the position he is taking this year and vowed to assist with a smooth transition to legal cannabis in Delaware.

“I understand the governor’s personal opposition to legalization, so I especially appreciate him listening to the thousands of residents who support this effort and allowing it to become law,” he added. “I am committed to working with the administration to ensure that the effort to establish the regulatory process goes as smoothly as possible.”

Brian Vicente, founding partner of the cannabis and psychedelics law firm Vicente LLP, said that the legislation marks another milestone in the movement to reform cannabis policy in the United States, adding that he expects further progress in 2023.

“Each state that legalizes cannabis is a significant step forward on our country’s path to marijuana reform, and Delaware’s recent action to legalize is no exception. This bill breezed through both the state senate and house with a veto-proof majority, showing that Delaware’s elected representatives, much like its citizens, widely support cannabis reform,” Vicente wrote in an email to High Times. “Delaware will send two U.S. Senators and a U.S. Representative to Washington DC to represent their state’s interests, which now include protecting a regulated system for adult-use cannabis. Delaware is the 22nd state to legalize, and will likely soon be joined by Minnesota, which is actively debating legalization in its state legislature. Each state’s legalization gets our country closer to a tipping point, when the federal government will be forced to align its cannabis policy with the states.”

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The first measure, House Bill 1, which would legalize cannabis for adults, passed the Senate with a vote of 16-4, while House Bill 2, legislation to set up a framework for regulated recreational marijuana sales, was approved by a vote of 15-5. If they become law, the bills will make Delaware the 22nd state in the union to legalize adult-use cannabis.

The bills now head to the desk of Delaware Governor John Carney, who last year vetoed legislation to legalize adult-use cannabis, making him the only Democratic governor in the nation to make such a move. The state House of Representatives then failed to override the veto, leaving lawmakers to try again during the current legislative session. This year, however, both houses of the Delaware legislature have passed the bills with a veto-proof majority, making final passage of the bills with or without Carney’s signature all but guaranteed.

Cannabis Policy Reform Marches Forward

The neighboring states of New Jersey and Maryland have also passed legislation to legalize cannabis for use by adults, making Delaware one of the few holdouts in the Northeast left to end the prohibition of marijuana. After Tuesday’s Senate votes to legalize the bills, Brian Vicente, founding partner at the cannabis and psychedelics law firm Vicente LLP, hailed the new progress for the cannabis policy reform movement in the United States.

“The impending passage of legalization in Delaware is a historic and important step towards establishing the Atlantic Seaboard as ground for legal adult cannabis regulation,” Vicente wrote in an email to High Times. “For many years, legalization was considered a West Coast phenomenon, but the East Coast is now following suit. While we are still a ways away from having cannabis legal from Florida to Maine, Delaware further cements the East Coast as an area turning its back on marijuana prohibition.” 

Neither of the bills passed on Tuesday, however, include restorative justice provisions to expunge past convictions for cannabis-related offenses like those included in the marijuana legalization plans of many states in recent years. Natalie Papillion, chief operating officer of the Last Prisoner Project, a nonprofit group dedicated to the release of all cannabis prisoners, called out the lack of expungement measures in Delaware’s marijuana legalization plan.

“Legalization alone cannot heal the wounds of prohibition. True justice demands legislation that provides record clearance and resentencing for those affected,” she wrote in a statement to High Times. “It’s disheartening that Delaware has ignored the opportunity to start repairing these harms by failing to incorporate retroactive relief measures into this bill.”

Legalization Has Broad Public Support in Delaware

Polling in Delaware shows that nearly three-quarters of adults in the state support legalizing marijuana, while only 18% said that cannabis should remain illegal. Nearly nine out of 10 Democratic respondents said they approve of cannabis legalization, while 73% of independent voters also said they support ending the prohibition of marijuana in the state. Less than half (47%) of Republicans said cannabis should continue to be against the law, while 42% of GOP respondents support legalization.

“With this latest vote, the fight to legalize cannabis in Delaware is nearing the finish line. Cannabis policy reform has garnered widespread support among Delawareans for years. Meanwhile, neighboring states have already made the move to legalize cannabis,” Olivia Naugle, senior policy analyst at the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a statement from the cannabis reform group. “It’s encouraging to see the legislature advance these bills with veto-proof majorities. We hope Gov. Carney will heed the will of the people and allow Delaware to become the 22nd state to legalize cannabis. Any further delay to cannabis legalization would be a detriment to the state.”

Attorney Vicente said that the legalization of cannabis in Delaware could also give additional support to the effort to legalize cannabis at the federal level, noting that state lawmakers are increasingly in favor of reform.

“Importantly, after this law passes, Delaware will send two U.S. Senators and one House member to Washington, D.C., with a clear mandate to pass federal reform,” he said. “Delaware is an example of a relatively new trend in cannabis reform, with its adult-use law passing through its legislature instead of by a popular vote.”

The legislation now heads to the governor’s desk for his consideration. Before Tuesday’s vote in the Senate, Carney spokeswoman Emily Hershman said in a statement that the governor “continues to have strong concerns about the unintended consequences of legalizing marijuana for recreational use in our state, especially about the impacts on our young people and highway safety.”

“He knows others have honest disagreements on this issue,” she added. “But we don’t have anything new to share today about how the Governor will act on HB 1 and HB 2 if they reach his desk.”

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The Delaware House of Representatives failed on Tuesday to override a veto of a bill to legalize possession of small amounts of pot, likely dashing hopes for meaningful cannabis reform in the state for the rest of the year. Members of the House voted 20-20 in the bid to override the veto, failing to reach the three-fifths majority required for success.

House Bill 371 from Democratic Representative Ed Osienski would have legalized possession of up to one ounce of weed by adults. Osienski introduced the bill and another measure to establish a regulated cannabis industry in April after a more comprehensive proposal to legalize cannabis possession and commerce failed earlier this year.

Osienski has said that the bill to regulate recreational production and sales, House Bill 372, would create good jobs “while striking a blow against the criminal element which profits from the thriving illegal market for marijuana in our state.” But the measure failed in the House last month despite being favored in the vote 24-14, but failing to reach the 60% supermajority required because the bill includes a 15% tax on cannabis sales.

HB 371 fared better, passing in the House by a vote of 26-14 on May 5. A week later, the Delaware Senate approved the measure by a vote of 13-7, sending the bill to Democratic Governor John Carney for his consideration. But on May 24, Carney vetoed the bill, citing concerns about safety and the economic impact of legalizing recreational cannabis.

“That said, I do not believe that promoting or expanding the use of recreational marijuana is in the best interests of the state of Delaware, especially our young people,” Carney said in his message vetoing HB 371. “Questions about the long-term health and economic impacts of recreational marijuana use, as well as serious law enforcement concerns, remain unresolved.”

Veto Override Attempt Fails in Delaware

Lawmakers got the chance to override Carney’s veto with Tuesday’s vote but failed to reach the threshold necessary. Five representatives in the House, three Democrats and two Republicans, who voted in favor of the bill originally changed their votes for the veto override attempt. Democratic House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst voted for the bill in May but did not cast a vote in the override bid, despite being present in the chamber.

Following Tuesday’s unsuccessful veto override vote, Osienski said on the House floor that he was proud he had “been fighting for something that such a large majority of Delawareans wanted.”

“It’s kind of what I feel they sent me down there to do, and I am appreciative of all the work I’ve done with my colleagues,” he said. “But most of all,” he added, his voice breaking. “I feel good that I was working for Delaware.”

Cannabis activists, about 100 of whom rallied at the state capitol in Dover to encourage lawmakers to override Carney’s veto, were disappointed by the outcome of Tuesday’s vote.

Efforts to legalize cannabis in Delaware are “over, in my opinion,” said Brian Warnock, who waited after the rally to witness the outcome of the vote. “It’s especially disappointing because [Carney’s] a Democrat. This was a Democratic bill.”

“The only thing that’s going to happen,” he added, “is everybody’s going to get on the ferry and go over to New Jersey. It’s not going to stop anybody from getting pot. It’s just going to cost us millions of dollars.”

Longtime cannabis activist Mason Tvert, a partner at cannabis policy firm VS Strategies, said that the defeat of HB 371 maintains the failed status quo of cannabis prohibition.

“It’s stunning to see such a sensible, broadly supported policy proposal derailed by a governor’s veto and a handful of lawmakers’ unwillingness to stand up to him,” Tvert wrote in an email to High Times. “This will not prevent adults in Delaware from accessing cannabis; it just ensures that cannabis will be purchased in other states or in the illegal market. It is a shame that adults in Delaware will continue to be treated like criminals simply for consuming a product that is objectively less harmful than alcohol.”

Osienski said that Carney’s opposition to legalization comes despite data that show 61% of the state’s voters are in favor of reform.

“The governor has made it clear he wishes us to wait until 2025, but the majority of Delawareans don’t agree,” he said.

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Saying that “promoting or expanding the use of recreational marijuana is in the best interests of the state,” Delaware Governor John Carney has vetoed a bill that would have legalized cannabis for adults aged 21 and older.

Carney, a second-term Democrat, detailed his opposition to House Bill 371, which Delaware lawmakers passed earlier this month, in a veto announcement on Tuesday.

“House Bill No. 371 would, among other things, remove all penalties for possession by a person 21 years of age or older of one ounce or less of marijuana and ensure that there are no criminal or civil penalties for transfers without remuneration of one ounce or less of marijuana between persons who are 21 years of age or older,” Carney explained, before drawing a distinction between his position on medicinal cannabis and recreational pot use.

“I recognize the positive effect marijuana can have for people with certain health conditions, and for that reason, I continue to support the medical marijuana industry in Delaware,” he said. “I supported decriminalization of marijuana because I agree that individuals should not be imprisoned solely for the possession and private use of a small amount of marijuana—and today, thanks to Delaware’s decriminalization law, they are not.”

“That said, I do not believe that promoting or expanding the use of recreational marijuana is in the best interests of the state of Delaware, especially our young people,” the governor continued. “Questions about the long-term health and economic impacts of recreational marijuana use, as well as serious law enforcement concerns, remain unresolved.”

The bill now returns to the state’s General Assembly, where Democrats hold majorities in both chambers.

The Delaware News Journal reported that the legislation would “need to receive a three-fifths vote in each chamber to override the veto,” a threshold that the initial vote passed.

But the outlet also noted that it “is incredibly rare for the Delaware General Assembly to override a governor’s veto,” with the last successful override coming in 1977.

The veto is particularly frustrating, given the Democrats’ control of the Delaware state government. Large majorities of Democratic voters nationwide support cannabis legalization, a position that is fast becoming a consensus among the party’s elected officials, as well.

But Carney has long voiced his opposition to recreational pot use.

“Look, I just don’t think it’s a good idea,” Carney said in an interview last year. “If you talk to the parents of some of these folks that have overdosed and passed away they don’t think it’s a good idea because they remember the trajectory of their own sons and daughters.“

For pro-legalization lawmakers in Delaware, getting the bill passed and on Carney’s desk proved challenging. In March, a legalization bill in the state House won the support of a majority of members, but it fell short of the three-fifths threshold necessary for a tax bill to be approved.

The bill’s sponsor, Democratic state House Rep. Ed Osienski, noted the state’s “unique” status, saying that Delaware “is the only state in the country with a Democratic governor and Democrat-controlled legislature that has not approved legalization.”

Osienski and his fellow lawmakers produced a revised bill that passed both the state Senate and state House earlier this month.

But on Tuesday, the bill hit a wall in the form of the governor’s veto power.

“I respect the Legislative Branch’s role in this process, and I understand that some hold a different view on this issue. However, I have been clear about my position since before I took office, and I have articulated my concerns many times,” Carney said in his statement. “For the reasons stated above, I am hereby vetoing HB 371 by returning it to the House of Representatives without my signature.”

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