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A month from now, people can walk into a store in Delaware and buy marijuana for recreational use, finally ending a protracted delay for retail sales in a state that legalized weed in April 2023.

While Delaware has authorized 30 recreational licenses for retail sales, those are still in the process of getting approved and will not open on Aug. 1.

Instead, the sales will start at the 13 medical marijuana dispensaries that have been granted so-called conversion licenses to kickstart the regulated commercial market.

State Marijuana Commissioner Joshua Sanderlin said it was paramount for Delaware to get its legal industry going and attract customers who have been going to neighboring Maryland and New Jersey to legally buy buds, gummies, oils or other cannabis products.

“Launching the full adult use is an important part of continuing to expand the program, ensuring that these businesses are able to continue to operate, stand up, provide quality products to Delawareans,” Sanderlin, who took office in May, told WHYY News this morning after his office announced the start date. “To me personally, it’s important because it is a sign of this office’s ability to ensure that the supply chain is secure, that the products are quality and that adults over the age of 21 can access cannabis in the state.”

After weed was legalized and the market created in the spring of 2023, authorities had expected stores to open by last Christmas. But bureaucratic delays, including getting FBI background checks processed, has kept pushing back the start date, frustrating cannabis advocates.

But last year, lawmakers approved a bill that allowed the 13 medical dispensaries that had been operating for several years to obtain retail licenses at a cost of $100,000 each.

Jen Stark, who runs The Farm, which has dispensaries in Felton and New Castle, said she’s delighted to be able to start recreational sales Aug. 1.

“Delaware has been missing out on an industry, and the state’s missing out on revenue and there’s been many, many customers shopping in Maryland and New Jersey,” Stark told WHYY News after Sanderlin’s office announced the start date. “It’s long overdue, and the illicit market is out of control. So it’s much needed.”

Gov. Matt Meyer said in a statement that the start of marijuana sales “will generate critical revenue to strengthen our schools, infrastructure, and public health systems, while creating real opportunities for entrepreneurs.”

This story was supported by a statehouse coverage grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.