More than two years after legalizing recreational marijuana, Delaware dispensaries began sales Friday.

Six businesses that were involved in medical sales were able to begin their recreational sales at a total of 12 locations, Gov. Matt Meyer's office said. Other locations were set to open but were delayed due to local zoning.

Purchases and consumption are limited to adults 21 and older. You don't have to be a state resident, but no consumption is allowed in public.

Jim Weist was one of the first customers in line Friday morning outside Thrive Dispensaries in Wilmington

"I'm no longer a criminal," Weist said. "I've been dreaming of this since I was in high school. I was an advocate back then, 40 years ago, so you can imagine what this means to me."

Delaware's marijuana commissioner also visited Thrive Dispensaries and made the first adult-use purchase Friday. 

"People are excited to have access to it. It's not in the shadows anymore. You don't have to risk jail time for purchasing cannabis anymore, and you can get high-quality, safe products," Delaware Marijuana Commissioner Joshua Sanderlin said.

The drug became legal in the First State after former Gov. John Carney declined to veto two bills concerning the recreational use of the drug.

Carney, a Democrat who now serves as mayor of Wilmington, said he opposed legalization out of concern for young people and safety on the state's roads. 

In 2023, he allowed the bills to pass without a signature after indicating the state had "spent far too much time focused on this issue" and that it was "time to move on." The year prior, he vetoed bills on the same topic, spurring a failed attempt by House Democrats to override his veto.

Customers were lined up in the morning outside Thrive Dispensaries in Wilmington, waiting to be let in the building for recreational sales.

"You can come in here and it's clean and you're actually coming to get it from a pharmaceutical basically instead of off the streets and I think that's much more cleaner," Maurice Harris said.  

"It's product that is tested by a state-regulated lab, you know that exactly what the label says you're going to get, you're going to get," Thrive's Howard Schacter said.

Sanderlin said customers should feel confident in the product sold in the state due to the high standards growers and sellers must follow.

"All the products in our system are tracked from seed to sale, so there's no illicit product in the marketplace. We test for heavy metals, molds, microbacteria," Sanderlin said.

Meyer visits dispensary, touts revenue opportunities

Meyer, Carney's successor, visited a cannabis grow facility operated by First State Compassion in Milford on Wednesday. He and Sanderlin also met with students from Delaware Technical Community College who are part of the state's cannabis workforce training initiative, Meyer's office said.

He projected the industry would generate $40 million in annual revenue.

"The students at Del Tech who are already training to work in this new industry are an indicator that the future is bright. We're committed to doing this the right way — with strong safety standards, quality training, and product testing that ensures Delawareans have access to safe, reliable cannabis. Delaware will truly be the French wine of weed," Meyer said.

Delaware opened applications for its license lottery in August 2024, and received 1,269 applications for 125 available licenses — a number that includes 60 recreational grow facilities, 30 retail stores, 30 manufacturing locations and five testing facilities.