Michael Houghton Confirmed to Serve on Delaware’s First Marijuana Appeals Commission

Morris Nichols senior counsel Michael Houghton has been appointed to serve on the Marijuana Appeals Commission. He was nominated by Delaware Governor John Carney, and confirmed in a special session of the Delaware State Senate on Friday, September 8, 2023.

Delaware enacted legislation to legalize and regulate cannabis in late April 2023. The three-member Appeals Commission is an administrative body that will consider appeals of decisions made by the Marijuana Commissioner, the principal regulator of the new marijuana industry. Appeals will include, for example, disputes over the issuance or denials of licenses.

Mike has served in numerous leadership roles with both Delaware and national business and professional organizations. He is a Past President of the Uniform Law Commission, a Past President of the Delaware State Bar Association, and former member of the board of the Delaware Bar Foundation. He was appointed in 2017 by Governor Carney to serve as Chair of the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council (DEFAC), a council with representatives from both the public and private sectors, charged with providing non-partisan and objective revenue and expenditure estimates to the Governor and General Assembly and with providing advice to the Governor and the Secretary of Finance on the State’s overall financial conditions, current and projected economic conditions and trends, tax policy and current and projected trends in the national and local economies which may affect Delaware.

Mike also serves as a member of the Board of Governors of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce and serves on the Board of Artesian Resources Corporation and the Rockefeller Trust Company of Delaware.