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Delaware’s first Marijuana Commissioner Rob Coupe and a panel of business professionals spoke during the Central Delaware Economic Summit Tuesday, Sept. 17 in Dover. l PHOTO BY JENNIFER ANTONIK
DOVER — As Delaware continues to unravel its end to cannabis prohibition, armored vehicles still collect cash deposits from medical marijuana businesses while potential new retail establishments in Sussex County contend with finding a location that isn’t within three miles of a school, church or rehabilitation center, according to panelists at the Central Delaware Economic Summit.
During the event held by the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce at Delaware Technical Community College’s (DTCC) Terry Campus in Dover, leaders highlighted the excitement and concerns behind the new and growing adult-use recreational marijuana industry in Delaware as the First State enters into its own uncharted territory filled with challenges yet to be addressed.
In his introduction speech, DTCC President Dr. Mark Brainard said the conversation was timely and interesting, adding that “the challenges and opportunities some businesses face [in the marijuana industry] are important.”
From his standpoint, DTCC’s commitment to its students and workforce development throughout the state makes conversations like the one had by business professionals during the summit crucial to the continued evolution of the state’s only community college.
“The only way we can do that [support its mission] is to listen to business owners throughout the state, so events like this are very, very important to us,” Brainard said.
In a full circle moment, he invited Delaware’s first Marijuana Commissioner Rob Coupe, a DTCC alumnus and former law enforcement officer, to the stage to introduce the new adult-use recreational marijuana industry to the crowd.
Before a panelist of professionals in the field were given the opportunity to share their experiences with the end of Delaware’s marijuana prohibition, Coupe gave a history of cannabis use dating back to thousands of years ago.
The last century, however, was marred with negative propaganda and an attempt to control crimes that simply missed the mark, he would go on to explain.
Proponents of the marijuana industry, including both medical use and recreational use for adults, say more education needs to be done to improve not only access to the drug, but business opportunities, as well.
Jen Stark, CEO and co-owner of The Farm based in Delaware, said she entered the industry when she learned of those benefits as she became a medical marijuana patient herself for chronic pain.
The Farm was licensed to produce and sell medical marijuana products in Delaware in 2020 during the second round of licensure applications. While Stark has a degree in engineering from the University of Delaware, she runs the business alongside her brother who has the plant science, or agronomy, background needed for a successful cultivation and extraction business.
“He said, ‘We have all of these people growing hemp in Delaware and nowhere to extract the oils for that,’” she said on how the business was born. Since they began, she has also worked with the state to improve the landscape for new businesses, professionals and clients in the industry while addressing inevitable challenges they face.
“Being federally legal is one of the biggest challenges,” she said, adding that educating the public about the benefits and safe use of marijuana is another major challenge in Delaware.
While the First State has joined dozens of other states in the legal quest for an end to marijuana prohibition, the federal classification of a Schedule I drug possesses continued barriers to banking needed not only to operate a business on a daily basis, but to start it in the first place, as well.
Stephen Wright of Shore Bank said his business has offered banking services to marijuana businesses in Maryland and may be the first state in Delaware to do so. The lack of an improved federal designation makes it difficult to operate a marijuana business as banks operate by federal regulations, he said.
Once businesses get through the red tape and can set up banking, they have new hoops to jump through. They can only accept cash or checks at the counter and, of those two options, only checks can be directly deposited to a bank – all cash must be picked up by an armored vehicle contracted by the bank.
DTCC Vice President and Campus Director Dr. Chris Moody explained that banking wasn’t the only barrier felt by those entering the new industry, citing other entry issues such as workforce development.
To date, 34 positions have been created at the state level since the legalization of marijuana and the introduction of the new adult-use recreational industry, including five in the Office of the Marijuana Commissioner, 14 in Delaware’s Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement office, seven in the Division of Revenue, two in the Department of Agriculture and six in the Division of Public Health, according to Coupe.
Hundreds more jobs could be on the horizon as up to 125 recreational-use marijuana business licenses are issued over the next year, along with up to 32 conversion licenses allowing previously established medical marijuana facilities the opportunity to also serve adult-use recreational marijuana clients.
DTCC hopes to address the influx of new jobs by providing a 150-hour course for those interested in the industry starting in January. The course is still being worked out in a development committee, but Moody said the school has received interest from at least 100 students so far.
“There’s a need and. . . our mission is to support the need and the workforce,” Moody said. “The class is intended for anyone who wants to learn more about the industry. This is a lot of information to digest. . . We want to help the employers. If someone completes this class, we’re anticipating they’re going to apply for a job and if [a business owner] asks questions, they’re going to have a lot of background.”
Stark added that a variety of educational opportunities could help in the field, such as HVAC technicians and culinary professionals; education about the industry in general could help guide new students toward their specific path of learning.
Another member of the panel, Representative Edward Osienski (D-Newark), said that the new industry, along with its social equity components, will have a significant impact in the state, especially once the various challenges are ironed out.
“I think we’re going to see some real benefits when it comes to business creation and job creation,” he said. “There are so many more benefits to legalizing recreational use and helping the communities who were so negatively impacted by this.”
