Adults aged 21 and over in Delaware can now legally purchase recreational marijuana and related products from licensed cannabis retailers.
Legislation was passed in 2023 legalizing cannabis for adults and create Delaware’s regulatory structure. The Office of the Marijuana Commissioner (OMC) finalised regulations that were published in September 2024, and recreational sales kicked off last Friday.
Sales to adult-use consumers have begun through Delaware’s existing medical cannabis retailers that were selected to be eligible to convert their existing licenses. From more than 1,200 license applications during the 2024 application period, just 125 licenses were provisionally awarded through a lottery in December last year. But not all of those licensees are offering recreational marijuana products yet, with the OMC approving them on a rolling basis as background checks are completed, regulatory requirements fulfilled and final inspections passed.
“The OMC has worked closely with our medical marijuana operators to ensure a smooth transition to the adult-use market,” said Deputy Commissioner Paul Hyland. “Their ability to convert licenses has been instrumental in fast-tracking this launch.”
Delaware adults 21 and older are allowed to possess up to one ounce of cannabis, 12 grams of concentrated cannabis, or products with 750 milligrams or less of delta-9 THC purchased from licensed retailers. Home-growing remains illegal and the state has levied a 15% tax on recreational cannabis sales.
It will be interesting to see what impact this has on the state’s medical cannabis program. Current figures aren’t available, but there were just under 28,000 patients in 2023. There are some advantages in staying with the program, such as not having to pay the 15% tax and access to increased purchase limits. Still, it has been a common occurrence in other states that have legalised recreational marijuana to see registered medical cannabis patient numbers drop off.
While known as the ‘first state’ as it was the first of the original thirteen colonies to ratify the U.S. Constitution back in 1787, Delaware wasn’t the first state to make recreational marijuana legal. It joins 24 other states that have already done so. The first two US states to legalize were Colorado and Washington in 2012.
“Today’s launch of adult-use cannabis sales by Delaware’s existing medical operators is an important milestone in the rollout of the state’s regulated cannabis market,” said Commissioner Joshua Sanderlin on Friday.
