Will Delaware get legal weed? The bills are on Gov. Carney’s desk.

Now the waiting game for legal marijuana in Delaware really starts.

Gov. John Carney has received both bills that were passed last month by the Delaware General Assembly. House Bill 1, which legalizes possession of up to one ounce of marijuana for adults 21 and older, arrived at his desk Tuesday. House Bill 2, which creates a regulatory framework for a recreational marijuana industry in the state, arrived Friday.

Per the Delaware state constitution, Carney has 10 days — not including Sundays — to sign or veto the bills. If he takes no action, they automatically become law after that period. On that timeline, House Bill 1 would become law by default on April 22, and House Bill 2 on April 26.

It is not clear what Carney, a Democrat, intends to do. His office confirmed it has received the bills, but had no further comment. Carney vetoed a similar marijuana legalization effort last year. And following the passage of Delaware’s legalization legislation last month, his office issued a statement saying that Carney “continues to have strong concerns about the unintended consequences of legalizing marijuana for recreational use in our state.”

Legislation taking time to get to the governor is not unusual. Rep. Ed Osienski (D., Newark), the bills’ primary sponsor, said that the delayed delivery was intentional.

“In this case, we knew the governor wasn’t excited about this, so he was in no hurry — and we were in a hurry,” Osienski said. “We wanted to allot him time where his attorneys could review them.”

Osienski decided to stagger the delivery of the bills strategically. The Delaware House and Senate are in recess until April 25, and having the 10-day timeline for both bills run out around then will allow lawmakers to take action once they are back in session. By delivering the bills separately, lawmakers can “let [Carney] take a crack at HB 1 first.”

“If we have the votes to override a veto [on HB 1], I would think he would say, ‘Let’s let HB 2 become law,” Osienski said. “My hope is we wouldn’t have to do an override twice.”

But if lawmakers do need to override a veto, Osienski said he remains optimistic that he and his colleagues will be able to do so, unlike in 2022 when lawmakers fell short of a three-fifths majority in both chambers.

“I think everyone is staying together on this. Everyone realizes we need to get this done,” Osienski said. “I am thankful to my colleagues that they supported these initiatives. We are close to the finish line.”

Osienski stressed that even if legal marijuana passes in Delaware, there would be restrictions, and that setting up a legal marketplace will take time. Public use of marijuana, for example, is still not permitted under Delaware’s legalization scheme, and retail licenses for recreational marijuana shops will take about 19 months to be issued after the bill goes into effect.

Osienski urged Delawareans to have patience.

“We want to make sure we get this right,” Osienski said. “People have been waiting 50-some years. They can wait a little longer to get this set up correctly.”