Delaware’s Office of the Marijuana Commissioner (OMC) received more interest than expected in its recent call for marijuana business license applications.
Delaware legalized medical marijuana in 2011, but sales didn’t commence until 2015. In April 2023, recreational cannabis was legalised – but without Governor John Carney’s signature.
The application period for marijuana business licenses kicked off on August 19 this year and closed on September 30, with 1,269 applications received – which brought in just over $4 million in associated fees.
All applications are currently being review for compliance purposes before many move on to what will be a lottery. The first phase of this is scheduled to occur on October 24, 2024, with more details to come.
But in four of the license categories, application numbers matched or were below the available licenses in those categories, so a lottery won’t be required. Those categories are:
- Open Testing Lab
- Social Equity Testing Lab
- Micro Manufacturing Licenses for Sussex County
- Micro Cultivation License for New Castle County
OMC will conduct a separate lottery for all retail licenses given the level of interest there, along with other license categories that have not been reviewed in time for the first lottery in October. This lottery has been pencilled in for late November or early December at this stage.
“OMC looks forward to announcing the names of the businesses selected to receive conditional licenses after the lottery is complete and all recipients have been formally notified,” stated the Commissioner’s office.
Adult use sales in Delaware should begin by spring 2025. Products that will be available – not necessarily from the outset – include flower, vapes, edibles, tinctures, capsules, and other concentrates.
It is legal for adults 21 years of age or older to possess up to the personal use quantity of marijuana in Delaware. This is defined as 1 ounce or less of marijuana in leaf form (including flower), up to 12 grams concentrated cannabis, or products containing 750 milligrams or less of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Home-growing is not permitted.
While products and standards are the same for recreational use as for the state’s medical program, qualified patients are able to access increased amounts of marijuana products and may participate in promotional sales and home delivery. It will be interesting to observe the impacts of adult use cannabis on the medical program. In many other states where marijuana has been legalized, there has been an exodus of patients.
In July this year, Delaware’s medical program was expanded. One of the changes was removal of the requirement that a debilitating medical condition is needed to qualify for a registry identification card.
