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Gov. Matt Meyer taps specialized cannabis attorney Joshua Sanderlin from Washington D.C. to be Delaware’s next Marijuana Commissioner.
As the principal of Sanderlin Strategies, Sanderlin has helped marijuana business owners through complex legal and regulatory landscapes, helping to secure cannabis licenses and drafting compliance protocols across eight jurisdictions.
Sanderlin has worked in the cannabis industry since 2013, serving as an attorney and lobbyist for global firm Greenberg Traurig prior to establishing his own firm.
Office of the Governor
Joshua Sanderlin
“Josh Sanderlin will bring deep expertise, steady leadership, and a clear commitment to equity and accountability to the Office of the Marijuana Commissioner,”said Governor Matt Meyer in a statement. “His experience navigating complex regulatory systems and work across the cannabis industry make him uniquely qualified to launch Delaware’s adult-use marijuana market quickly and correctly. With Josh at the helm, we’re ready to build a system that is safe, transparent, and delivers real opportunity for hardworking Delawareans.”
Sanderlin is poised to replace Delaware’s first ever Marijuana Commissioner Rob Coupe, who stepped down in January to take a job in the private sector.
Coupe previously served as Superintendent of the Delaware State Police, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security and Commissiooner of the Delaware Department of Correction.
Sanderlin must undergo Senate confirmation before he can officially take over as the chief of the Office of the Marijuana Commissioner (OMC).
Where the recreational marijuana market stands in Delaware
Sanderlin’s nomination comes during a tumultuous time for Delaware’s recreational marijuana landscape as lawmakers work to make the necessary legislative changes to get the market up and running.
Those who were selected for marijuana business licenses during the state’s lottery process have been waiting for conditional licenses to be offered by OMC so they can begin operations.
According to the bill that legalized recreational marijuana in Delaware, license holders must clear a federal background check.
OMC submitted the required names to the FBI for approval, but the FBI sent a letter to OMC at the end of March noting the Delaware Code lacks necessary explicit language identifying who is required to obtain a background check.
The FBI thus rejected Delaware’s request for a service code that is needed to conduct fingerprint-based background checks.
State Rep. Ed (D-Newark) Osienski quickly swung into action and filed legislation to correct this technicality, and it cleared its final legislative hurdle last week.
The bill still needs final approval from Gov. Meyer to become law — who has pledged his support — but it is still unclear how long the background checks will take to complete.
Rep. Osienski has made a case for lottery winners not needing the background check to be granted a conditional license.
Delaware Code only requires “any fees or costs associated with obtaining a background check” to be paid before the Marijuana Commissioner can grant a license, but there has been no comment on whether OMC intends to offer conditional licenses prior to the completion of background checks.
State lawmakers are also making an effort to loosen county-wide zoning restrictions on recreational marijuana dispensaries after several towns and counties have either outright banned marijuana business or placed intense regulations on where businesses can operate.
In May of last year, Sussex County implemented a de facto ban on marijuana retail locations by deciding they could not be located within three miles of schools, churches, colleges, substance abuse treatment facilities or any other dispensary.
Virtually every town in Sussex County has banned marijuana business, and the county placed an additional three-mile buffer zone between recreational dispensaries and municipal limits.
New Castle County followed with its decision in December. While its 1,000-foot buffer zone is much less restrictive than Sussex County’s, State Sen. Trey Paradee (D-Dover) says license holders are struggling to find qualifying spaces in either.
Sen. Paradee’s bill would set 500 feet as the maximum restriction limit between a dispensary and sensitive locations at the county level and set half a mile as the maximum restriction limit between dispensaries — it does not affect zoning restrictions within town limits.
The legislation passed in the State Senate 13-8 and now awaits a committee hearing in the House.
“}]] Gov. Matt Meyer taps specialized cannabis attorney Joshua Sanderlin from Washington D.C. to be Delaware’s next Marijuana Commissioner. Read More
