Our legislators made big promises in Dover about fairness and equity. We were told that Delaware’s local small businesses would be at the front of the line.
The Delaware Office of the Marijuana Commissioner is proposing to give the easiest access to some of America’s biggest corporate cannabis players to get grandfathered into first-mover weed stores. Conversion licenses would allow the medical marijuana dispensaries to sell adult-use products first. It’s the ultimate market capture, and there’s no going back. All those promises will be broken from day one.
Delaware NORML opposes the conversion bill because it is not in the best interests of Delaware cannabis consumers. Delaware NORML advocates for small businesses to service Delaware consumers.
By giving the current medical dispensaries a conversion license, it is creating an unfair advantage in favor of multi-state operators.
Three years ago the small, corporate cartel of medical marijuana permit holders in Delaware testified against full cannabis legalization. These operators made every effort to stop reform, unless they were handed privileged and protected access to be the first to open for adult-use sales.
These very same large cannabis companies have gone state to state running a playbook of corrupt politics and heartless tactics. The problems with corporate cannabis players have been painstakingly well reported. Union busting, price gouging, price fixing and pulling elected officials into illegal payoffs are the usual techniques.
Columbia Care (Cannabist) charges double for medical cannabis in New Jersey compared to Pennsylvania. Curaleaf abandoned several states, simply shutting down its entire operations. And both those companies have been fined by state regulators in New Jersey for violating labor rules.
Letting towns or even entire counties opt out of cannabis retail also fuels corruption. Municipalities around the country already fell afoul of state and federal laws, trying to cash in by limiting cannabis permits. This usually involved pay-to-play schemes where large corporate cannabis players make six-figure donations to a town’s community fund in exchange for favorable business zoning. Small businesses just can’t compete in that kind of racket.
Federal prosecutors have stepped in to protect small cannabis operators from such predatory practices. Some mayors and city officials ended up serving time in prison.
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