Delaware adult-use cannabis sales soared to a record $5.6 million in July, Philadelphia-based WHYY News reported Tuesday.
But with no new adult-use retailers in business more than a year after the first sale, the market remains far behind what state officials forecast.
For the 12 months that ended July 31, Delaware cannabis sales reached $58.5 million – well below the $281 million in annual sales Delaware’s first marijuana commissioner Robert Coupe projected after the state legalized in 2023.
Why are Delaware cannabis sales lower than projected?
To date, adult-use cannabis sales have been limited to 13 existing medical cannabis operators that paid a six-figure conversion fee.
A total of 38 new businesses have won licenses via lotteries, state marijuana czar Joshua Sanderlin told reporters last month.
Sixteen of them are retailers, according to WHYY, but none have yet to open.
That’s expected to change soon, Deputy Marijuana Commissioner Paul Hyland told WHYY News.
What marijuana MSOs are active in Delaware cannabis?
Marijuana multistate operator Mint Cannabis is expected to open a retail location near Georgetown in Sussex County later this month, he said.
Most of the 16 prospective retailers holding conditional licenses face familiar challenges, Hyland said.
Because adult-use cannabis remains federally illegal even after limited federal medical cannabis rescheduling, many banks and lenders remain on the sidelines.
Restrictive zoning has compounded the delay. Many Sussex County municipalities banned cannabis businesses.
However, a new state law now overrides several local limits on where stores can operate, opening more ground for the 30 retail-only stores still waiting to launch, WHYY reported.
“It’s slower than we would have liked. But the process is working well,” Hyland told WHYY. “The framework is strong.”
Are neighboring states impacting Delaware sales?
WHYY reported that Delaware’s per-capita sales trail its neighbors by wide margins:
- New Jersey posted $101.2 million in July retail sales across more than 300 licensed stores.
- Maryland recorded $90 million across more than 100 licensed cannabis shops.
- Delaware’s $5.6 million came from 13 formerly medical-only marijuana locations.
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Price is a driving factor. An ounce of cannabis can top $400 in Delaware, compared with no more than $250 in Maryland and $300 in New Jersey, Zoe Patchell of the Delaware Cannabis Advocacy Network told WHYY.
Patchell, who campaigned for legalization before it passed in 2023, said residents will keep crossing state lines for cheaper products and more retail choice.
“The revenue is woefully under projected conservative estimates, basically because this is not the market consumers want to utilize,” Patchell told WHYY.
“We never expected to be nearly two years behind the implementation process.”
