Delaware’s 1st dispensary delayed again, set for June opening

The opening of Delaware’s first and only MMJ dispensary has been delayed again, but this time construction issues are to blame rather than regulatory problems.

First State Compassion Center near Wilmington, scheduled to open this month, likely will not launch until at least June thanks to electrical issues, its president said.

Delaware residents approved MMJ in 2011, but the state’s governor delayed implementation of the program until recently amid concerns regulators could be prosecuted under federal law.

Only 200 Delaware residents have been authorized to buy cannabis so far, while another 170 applications are being processed, Delaware Online reported.

First State is the only dispensary licensed to set up shop in Delaware. Although the law allows one dispensary in each county, the governor is currently limiting the program to just one dispensary for the entire state.

State law caps cultivation at 150 plants and only allows storage of 1,500 ounces, which will likely result in a shortage of medical cannabis, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

Delaware’s delay from legalization to sales is one of the longest in the U.S., according to data from Marijuana Business Daily.