Delaware municipalities prepare for the recreation marijuana industry, which is set to open legal retail shops in April 2025.
Marijuana dispensaries are coming to Delaware, and one massive hurdle has been cleared on the way to that reality.
All 15 available open retail licenses were awarded through a lottery on Dec. 19. Three licenses are in Kent County, five licenses are in Sussex County, and seven are in New Castle County. Open retail applications were open to anyone, anywhere. State Marijuana Commissioner Rob Coupe said the lottery went well with no issues.
Before the lottery, 529 applications were in play, and each application cost $5,000. Now, those who were awarded licenses will continue through a supplemental process that will award them a conditional license. They cannot operate a business until they pass through the conditional phase and are awarded an active license.
State law requires that to obtain an active license from the office of the marijuana commissioner, a conditional licensee must, according to state law:
All of these conditions must be completed within 18 months, according to state law. The deadline can be extended if the commissioner believes a licensee is acting in good faith. If an extension is not granted, or a licensee cannot become operational, the conditional license is rescinded.
In related news, all medical marijuana dispensaries have converted, and some are further along than others. The Newark City Council has already approved the operation of Fresh Delaware as a recreational marijuana facility.
The new licenses now have to compete for space as counties and municipalities regulate how they want the industry. Towns and cities including Middletown, Bethany Beach, Rehoboth Beach and Lewes have banned retail outright. While counties cannot legally ban retail, Sussex County implemented strict zoning laws that could choke retail locations to more remote and financially difficult locations.
The state's largest city, Wilmington, has taken its time. City government has gone back and forth between buffer areas and bans for retail, and most recently, it asked the state Legislature to amend the law that allows only the state to get a cut of taxes levied on marijuana sales. Similarly, Dover has also gone back and forth on regulations, but nothing is official on the books.
Recently, New Castle County updated its zoning to match state regulations. Kent County will regulate the industry similar to tobacco and alcohol retail.
Dispensaries are expected to open their doors to Delawareans in April 2025. But marijuana use is still federally illegal, so the industry cannot cross state lines and must be homegrown.
In August 2025, the commissioner could evaluate the market and begin taking new applications.
"The codes kind of already set up for us to, essentially, next spring or summer, evaluate where we are and determine if we need to have another process," Coupe said in October.