DE cannabis sales lag projections but hit record $5.6M in July - WHYY # Delaware retail marijuana sales reached record $5.6 million in July, yet remain far below projections None of the 30 authorized stores have opened yet.
whyy.org · September 8, 2026
DE cannabis sales lag projections but hit record $5.6M in July - WHYY
# Delaware retail marijuana sales reached record $5.6 million in July, yet remain far below projections
None of the 30 authorized stores have opened yet. Officials blame zoning rules and financing hurdles but say one will start operating this month.
By
Cris Barrish
September 8, 2026
The Farm's two medical dispensaries are among the 13 in Delaware that can begin selling recreational marijuana Aug. 1, 2025. (Courtesy of The Farm)
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Thirteen months after Delaware’s first retail marijuana stores opened, sales of bud, gummies and tinctures averaged about $4.5 million a month in sales for the state. However, they are far below projections, as more retailers struggle to get going and prices are lower in neighboring New Jersey and Maryland.
Sales at the 14 former medical-only cannabis dispensaries that received conversion licenses to sell for recreational use have totaled $58.5 million in retail sales since Aug. 1, 2025. That amount peaked this past July, when retail buyers spent $5.6 million.
The $58.5 million sold so far has generated $8.8 million in tax revenue for the state. Retail cannabis sales are taxed at 15%.
Still, that’s far short of the $281 million in annual sales and $42 million in state revenues that Delaware’s first marijuana commissioner, Robert Coupe, had predicted in 2023 after lawmakers legalized marijuana for adults at least 21 years old.
Coupe’s successor, Josh Sanderlin, has told WHYY News that Coupe’s projections were overly optimistic, but said the market will continue to grow as more growers begin operations and 30 more retail-only stores get licensed, finances and open their doors.
To date, only one new cultivator has begun growing marijuana in Delaware, which can allocate up to 60 new licenses.
No retail-only stores have opened but Deputy Marijuana Commissioner Paul Hyland told WHYY News that a store named Mint Cannabis — located near Georgetown in Sussex County — should open this month.
He noted that restrictive zoning — especially in Sussex County, where many municipalities have banned cannabis businesses — have slowed the rollout, but a new state law overrides many limits on where stores can be located.
Hyland added that getting financing has also been an issue for many of the 16 prospective retail businesses that have been granted conditional licenses.
“It’s slower than we would have liked. But the process is working well,” Hyland said. “The framework is strong.”
Delaware has a long way to go, however, to compete with New Jersey, which started retail sales in April 2022, and Maryland, which began in July 2023.
Delaware, which had $5.6 million in retail sales in July, has 1.06 million residents, according to the latest U.S. Census estimates.
Maryland has 6.26 million residents — six times more — but that state’s $90 million in retail sales in July was 16 times higher than in Delaware. There are more than 100 licensed cannabis dispensaries currently operating in Maryland.
New Jersey, with 9.55 million residents, has nine times the population of Delaware, but its $101.2 million in retail sales in July was 18 times higher than in Delaware. There are more than 300 licensed dispensaries operating in New Jersey.
Zoë Patchell, of the Delaware Cannabis Advocacy Network, said she’s not surprised and said Delaware’s struggles will lag as residents will keep traveling across state lines for cheaper prices and more retail options.
She said an ounce of cannabis from supply chains with operations in several states can cost more than $400 in Delaware, compared with no more than $250 in Maryland and $300 in New Jersey.
“The revenue is woefully under projected conservative estimates, basically because this is not the market consumers want to utilize,” said Patchell, who had pushed legalization for several years before it became law.
“After we passed this legislation in 2023, we certainly expected some growing pains, but we never expected to be nearly two years behind the initial implementation process.”
@barrishcris cbarrish@whyy.org
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