DOVER – Joshua Sanderlin, Delaware’s new marijuana commissioner, didn’t miss a beat when he started his dream job less than a week ago – he signed his first conditional license for a cultivation facility in Sussex County on his first day.
The First State’s new recreational industry was set to open April 1 this year with businesses of varied focuses and sizes throughout the state.
But that date came and went without any inkling that the industry would actually open up for business any time soon, despite countless investments from those who previously won the licensure lottery held by the state, as well as those who sought licensure but did not win the lottery this time around.
Sanderlin said opening the industry up for business owners and the public is a priority of his and emphasized that he wanted to see it done right by supporting not just the conversion licensees who already have established medical marijuana facilities open and can open a recreational facility with ease, but the social equity and new applicants, as well.
“Ensuring that they have the resources they need, especially our social equity folks, and that they have the resources they need, not just the money, but informationally and professionally to get their business going,” Sanderlin told the Delaware Business Times. “So, we’re doing both at the same time. It’s not an easy task. . . But I had the utter fortune of walking into a situation where these folks [Office of the Marijuana Commissioner employees], especially Paul [Hyland], have done the yeoman's work already, and I get to just come in and take all the credit.”
He confidently said they do not have a timeframe yet as to when the businesses can begin the work of bringing the recreational use industry to life, but he said an announcement would be made soon.
Sanderlin stepped in after a months-long search for a replacement as Delaware’s first Marijuana Commissioner Rob Coupe stepped down. Over the course of his year-and-a-half-long rein, Coupe often said he would not be in the role for an extended period of time, but long enough to get the ball rolling for industry professionals.
Coupe, whose
resigned as of Jan. 17, 2025, helped develop draft regulations for the rising industry that experts say could generate more than $40 million in tax revenues for the state once up and running.
Now it’s Sanderlin’s job to see that goal to fruition.
A veteran in the marijuana industry, he joined Delaware after years of experience as a lawyer and business consultant for marijuana businesses.
As a consultant, he was an entrepreneur with his own consulting firm, Sanderlin Strategies for which he had to relinquish financial interest in order to take the role of commissioner. As a lawyer, he practiced law at Greenberg Traurig where he often handled regulatory and legislative related cases.
His experiences over the years helped Sanderlin “learn the lingo” of the marijuana industry, giving him an intimate view of the challenges entrepreneurs face as they embark on their new journey. It will help him as he starts to lead the charge in Delaware, he said.
Now setting his sights on the First State’s budding recreational use marijuana industry, Sanderlin said he’s excited to embrace his ‘dream opportunity’ in a ‘diverse industry.’
“When I set out in 2015 or 2016, when I left the firm, I wanted to make an impact on the industry,” he explained. “It wasn’t about making a ton of money. It was more about getting into a new industry, helping bring cannabis to the populace, but making sure it was safe, accountable, transparent."
"This role really is the culmination of my entire career thus far in working as a lawyer, a government affairs professional and to what I’ve done in cannabis," he added. "I’m super excited about it.”
