Joshua Sanderlin has been officially confirmed by the Delaware Senate to serve as the state’s new Marijuana Commissioner, a key step in moving forward the state’s adult-use marijuana program.
Joshua Sanderlin.
Sanderlin was confirmed on May 14 with a 19 to 0 vote. Two senators were absent. He was originally nominated in April by Governor Matt Meyer to lead the Office of the Marijuana Commissioner, which has gone months without a permanent head following the resignation of Rob Coupe in January.
A longtime attorney and cannabis policy expert, Sanderlin is the founder of Sanderlin Strategies, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that provides legal, compliance, and lobbying services to marijuana businesses. His firm has advised clients in seven states and the District of Columbia since 2013.
Sanderlin now takes over an office that has struggled to meet key benchmarks for launching Delaware’s legal marijuana industry. The state missed its target for opening stores this spring, and licensees faced weeks of delays after the FBI stalled background checks by pausing fingerprint processing. That issue has since been resolved, and the process is now back on track.
With his confirmation secured, Sanderlin has the authority to issue conditional licenses to applicants who clear the background process. Under state law, those conditional licenses become permanent if a business begins operations within 18 months.
Governor Meyer called Sanderlin “uniquely qualified” to lead the effort, citing his experience with regulatory systems and the cannabis industry. The Office of the Marijuana Commissioner said last month it is “excited to finally be fully staffed and ready to chart a new course in Delaware’s marijuana industry.”
