Why Should Delaware Care?
Delaware’s recreational marijuana industry is preparing to launch, with expectations of job creation, tax revenue, and new business growth. After a months-long vacancy, the state has appointed D.C.-based attorney Joshua Sanderlin as marijuana commissioner. With a decade of experience in cannabis policy, Sanderlin arrives with strong credentials, but his early approach has been cautious. His leadership will be pivotal as Delaware enters the next phase of its cannabis rollout.
In a dimly lit conference room tucked inside an indistinct government building in Dover, Delaware’s new marijuana commissioner looked more like a friendly Santa Claus than a state regulator positioned to oversee a $280 million industry. With his snowy white beard, Joshua Sanderlin smiled easily, but measured his words with caution.
His demeanor was a contrast from the impression presented by his resume – which includes a joint venture into the marijuana retailing business with, among others, a prominent social media influencer and a member of the Wu-Tang Clan hip-hop group.
When asked about the simmering debate over where cannabis shops should be allowed to open within local municipalities, Sanderlin didn’t take the bait.
“The sovereignty of the county versus sovereignty of the state is an issue above my pay grade, and so I don’t want to weigh in to what the state should do on that level, but it’s important that businesses have have a place to locate,” he said with a diplomatic grin, sidestepping the political landmines scattered around Delaware’s newest recreational marijuana industry.
When asked about how hemp-derived THC beverages and edibles should be regulated, he similarly provided little insight, noting that the marijuana industry would be equipped to handle the consumables, but still no firm stance.
“I think the most important thing is that there is regulation,” he said. “What we’re seeing now is a complete lack of it.”
Sanderlin shows eagerness to start his new position as the state’s Marijuana Commissioner, excitedly sharing that on his first day – Thursday, June 5 – he issued his first conditional license for a cultivation facility in Sussex.
The former D.C.-based attorney brings more than a decade of experience in public policy and cannabis reform, as well as his time spent operating his own marijuana businesses.
But his early public remarks suggest a restrained, non-confrontational approach to a role that will require him to oversee a new industry with more than 100 business operators, advise lawmakers on cannabis regulations, and help launch a market that would create a projected $42 million in state tax revenue.
Sanderlin was appointed May 16, filling the role that had sat vacant for over four months after previous Commissioner Rob Coupe – a 28-year veteran of the Delaware State Police – resigned in late January at the cusp of the change in gubernatorial administrations.
During those four months, the industry, which was set to launch this spring, has encountered obstacles, including delayed background checks for marijuana operators due to rejected applications by federal officials, poor communication between advocates and state regulators on when the market would open and aggressive local restrictions on where dispensaries can operate, stemming from language in the bill that legalized recreational marijuana in 2023.
Given the high anticipation for the industry’s rollout, Sanderlin is entering the role at a pivotal time, and advocates and operators alike are watching closely for signs of how the market will take shape.
Sanderlin said his main priority is to get the adult industry up and running, and to “let the industry thrive.”
“It’s just making sure that it’s done in a way that causes the least amount of those unintended consequences, and unforced errors that you have to go back and fix, which slows things down,” he said.
Who is Sanderlin?
Before his appointment, Sanderlin had no prior ties to Delaware. But living next door in Washington, D.C., he had been keeping an eye on the state’s evolving marijuana policies.
He said the opportunity to spearhead the state’s incoming marijuana industry came at a time when he was looking to leave D.C. and use his prior experiences to create an impact on the industry.
“When this opportunity came up and I got the interview, I was really excited. When I got to meet the governor, I was even more excited, and when I got the job, I’ve just been over the moon,” he said.
Before becoming commissioner, Sanderlin was an attorney in D.C, serving as a consultant for his own firm, Sanderlin Strategies, PLLC, where he would advise those navigating the cultivation, testing, and retail sectors of the marijuana industry.
He first started his work in the cannabis space in 2014, working in government affairs for the city and assisting in their transition from medical to adult-use cannabis. He was also the first solo cannabis manufacturer licensed in Washington, D.C.
Sanderlin also served two years at Cogent Law Group, a D.C.-based firm, where he worked on local marijuana policy and lobbying for the end to marijuana’s federal prohibition. And before that, he served 10 years at Greenberg Traurig, a major national law firm, where he worked on civil litigation, government affairs, and campaign finance compliance.
Sanderlin also advocated for the inclusion of hemp into the 2018 Farm Bill, which opened a loophole into the marijuana industry by creating derivatives that contain the intoxicating THC compound but don’t legally qualify as marijuana.
Those products are now commonly found in liquor stores, gas stations, and smoke shops throughout Delaware. That market could subvert the legal recreational market with untaxed and unregulated competition, which prompted legislators to propose a bill that would regulate such products through the alcohol and marijuana industry chains.
After pushback from hemp retailers, who argued the bill would destroy their businesses, lawmakers delayed the measure until next year.
Sanderlin said he wants to see the industry regulated in Delaware and that the marijuana industry would be equipped to handle distributing hemp-derived THC products.
Asked if he would consider putting hemp store operators in the marijuana chain, Sanderlin said it was an “early question.”
In more recent years, Sanderlin was a co-manager of a Jersey-based consumption weed lounge and shop, Hashtoria, which has retail shops on both coasts. Co-owners of the company include Wu-Tang Clan rapper Raekwon, radio personality Charlamagne tha God, and CNN commentator Bakari Sellers, according to business registration records.
Sanderlin was also a member and general counsel to House of Pink II LLC in D.C., according to the financial disclosure form provided to the Delaware Senate.
His business ties initially raised concerns during last month’s Senate Executive Committee confirmation hearing, where some lawmakers noted that Delaware law prohibits a marijuana commissioner from holding financial interests in cannabis-related businesses.
Since then, Sanderlin says he has divested from all of his businesses, and did so without taking any “buyouts.”
“I wanted this job that much,” he said.
Sanderlin’s office did not respond to subsequent requests for comment about who currently owns the shares of businesses he divested from.
Advocates hopeful of new leader
Sanderlin’s appointment may signal a shift in direction for the Office of the Marijuana Commissioner, considering former Gov. John Carney, a vocal opponent of recreational marijuana legalization, appointed a longtime law enforcement official to lead the office.
In contrast, Meyer has now selected someone with a track record of supporting the legal cannabis industry, and both advocates and lawmakers have expressed interest and excitement about working with Sanderlin.
Zoë Patchell, president of the Delaware Cannabis Advocacy Network, said she and other advocates haven’t had in-depth conversations with Sanderlin yet, but that they’re hopeful his background will help “get things back on track” as state delays continue to stall the market’s launch.
Delaware had planned to launch its recreational cannabis market in April, but a dispute with the FBI over criminal background checks delayed progress. That issue has since been resolved, and operators are now moving forward with background checks and receiving their conditional licenses.
A total of 43 background checks on marijuana operators have been completed thus far out of the 125 approved licensees, said Keila Montalvo, spokeswoman for the Delaware Office of the Marijuana Commissioner.
The office did not respond to how many conditional licenses have been issued.
Access to capital remains another challenge. Cannabis’s federal illegality has kept most banks from offering loans or investment, leaving many entrepreneurs without financing. To help, the state established a $4.5 million fund to support social equity licensees — those with past marijuana-related convictions or from over-policed communities.
The grant is being funded through fees from medical operators converting to recreational sales, and each qualifying business is eligible for just over $100,000 in support.
But recipients learned in April that the money would be distributed as reimbursements, not upfront grants — something advocates say wasn’t clearly communicated.
According to Patchell, the money has yet to be distributed to operators.
Sanderlin said he wants social equity licensees to feel supported by making Delaware an attractive space for cannabis investment, by providing monetary and informational resources for operators, and creating a network where people can express and address their concerns.
“What I’ve learned over my time is that money is very important to getting going, but it’s not the only resource that a company needs,” he explained.
Real estate still an issue
But even with proper resources, many face a more significant hurdle: finding a place to set up shop.
Under state law, municipalities can ban cannabis businesses entirely, and counties can impose strict zoning rules. About a third of Delaware towns have opted out, while others have enacted large buffer zones around schools and residential areas.
To allow more access for operators, a bill reducing those buffer zones to 500 feet is advancing through the General Assembly. It’s cleared the Senate and is headed to the House floor for a final vote next week, but some operators argue a new buffer is still relevantly large.
More bills to help regulate the industry may come up in the future and state legislators who worked on legalizing recreational marijuana in the state are ready to work with the new commissioner.
“I’m looking forward to working with him as other issues arise that will help guarantee that [the industry] is a success,” said House Majority Whip Ed Osienski (D-Newark), who led the state’s push for legalization.
Despite the ongoing delays Delaware has faced, Sanderlin said he doesn’t feel Delaware should be doing anything different thus far.
State regulatory processes in the marijuana industry can take longer than expected, he noted, due to the many unforeseen challenges that arise.
While Delaware is ahead of some states and behind others, Sanderlin said he was “surprised and elated” upon taking office to see how much groundwork had already been done by the Office of the Marijuana Commissioner.
The new commissioner is still settling into his role, currently in the midst of relocating from D.C. to Delaware. As he continues to work on getting up to date on Delaware’s industry landscape, Sanderlin said he wants to focus on listening and maintaining open communication as he works to balance competing concerns among operators, advocates and even opponents of the industry.
Navigating those competing concerns, he said, will require balancing them against “the political realities of the situation.”
“My job is to take the situation as I find it, and to listen to all those other voices, but then make sure that what we’re putting in place, first and foremost, is an industry that is responsible, that is accountable, that is safe and is transparent,” he said.
