DOVER, DE- Delaware issued 15 retail marijuana licenses Thursday through a live lottery hosted by the Office of the Marijuana Commissioner. Using a computer-generated system, winners were selected from a pool of 529 applicants during the Facebook Live event.
Selected application numbers were revealed during the broadcast, with winners’ identities to be announced next week after formal state notification.
Open retail licenses were distributed statewide: three in Kent County, five in Sussex County, and seven in New Castle County.
The competition was steep, with Kent County offering three licenses for 151 applicants, Sussex County granting five for 168 applicants, and New Castle County awarding seven for 210 applicants.
This lottery was separate from the one held in October for testing, cultivation, and manufacturing licenses.
Robert Coupe, Delaware’s Marijuana Commissioner, explained that the high number of applications for open retail facilities necessitated a separate process.
“When we opened the application process, we received over 1,200 applications for 125 licenses across various categories. Of those, 529 were submitted and paid for the 15 open retail licenses.”
This marks the final step in Delaware’s marijuana licensing process, but for the 15 selected applicants, there is still work ahead.
“The selected applicants must now complete their supplemental applications. Once that is done, we will begin their background checks.”
The winners, chosen by chance, now move closer to opening their doors as they navigate the future of their marijuana facilities.
Names of the selected applicants will be disclosed next week after official notifications are completed.
