The move puts Delaware on track to launch its recreational cannabis market about a year earlier than initially planned.
Delaware Gov. John Carney signed three marijuana-related bills into law Wednesday, setting the stage for an earlier-than-expected launch of recreational cannabis sales in the state.
The main piece, HB 408, allows six existing medical marijuana compassion centers – Delaware’s term for vertically integrated operators – to apply for dual-use licenses. The licenses would essentially grant existing operators the opportunity to break into the recreational market early, Marijuana Moment reported.
Under the new law, operators seeking conversion licenses must pay a $200,000 fee for cultivation licenses and $100,000 for retail, manufacturing, and testing licenses. The fees are expected to bring in $4.2 million to support social equity-owned cannabis businesses. Delaware reserved 47 of the 125 planned recreational marijuana licenses for qualified social equity candidates.
Last month, a Democratic state senator and a key sponsor the bill, Trey Paradee, said it was “critically important to ensure the successful launch of the recreational cannabis program in 2025,” according to Marijuana Moment.
The Delaware Office of the Marijuana Commissioner must open the application process by Aug. 1. The application window will close Nov. 1. Approved businesses can start recreational sales immediately upon license approval.
Delaware Marijuana Commissioner Rob Coupe told WHYY earlier this week that letting existing medical operators get first feet in the door “creates a much faster pathway to get the adult-use market operational … to make marijuana legally available for the average citizen to buy.”
The new law puts Delaware on track for a recreational cannabis market launch in early 2025, about a year earlier than initially planned.
Carney also signed bills that transfer oversight of the medical marijuana program to the marijuana commissioner’s office and make technical changes to state cannabis laws, the outlet reported.
This latest move follows the state’s move in May to expand cannabis access across the state to any adult willing to consult with a physician, removing previous restrictions on qualifying medical conditions.
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