With fewer than a million residents, federal law prohibiting sales between states and a continued prohibition on recreational use, Delaware may not seem like a hot market for cannabis. As the state considers a new crop of applicants for potentially lucrative medical cannabis licenses, however, its prospects are heating up.
This past summer, the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services’ Office of Medical Marijuana (OMM) opened a request for proposals (RFP) for companies seeking one of up to four new operational licenses. The state currently has only three operators running six locations across the state, including three in New Castle County, one in Kent County and two in Sussex County.
The number of medical cannabis patients in Delaware is growing, however, and they now number nearly 11,000 after the program opened five years ago. It’s hard to estimate a growth pattern with monthly fluctuating figures, but OMM’s benchmark sees patients topping 16,000 within the next year or two, according to Paul Hyland, OMM director.
Many in the industry believe that Delaware’s patient population will grow another 20,000 or 30,000 people – totaling about 3 to 4% of the state’s population, in line with participation rates of states with more mature medical cannabis industries.
Read more at delawarebusinesstimes.com