DOVER, DE- On Thursday, Sen. Trey Paradee (D-DE District 17) introduced Senate Bill 75, a measure aimed at limiting marijuana zoning restrictions across Delaware.
In April 2023, Delaware legalized recreational marijuana, granting counties the authority to regulate where dispensaries could open.
However, Paradee says strict zoning laws in Sussex County have made it nearly impossible for new businesses to establish dispensaries.
"One of the things that they did is they made it so that you could not put a retail facility within 3,000 feet of any daycare, any school, any park, or any government building."
This zoning map of Sussex County highlights the issue, showing few locations where a state-issued license holder could legally operate a dispensary.
To address these restrictions, SB 75 would establish statewide rules for marijuana retailers, ease zoning limitations, and allow existing medical dispensaries to expand into recreational sales with fewer restrictions.
Paradee says the bill is not just about helping new dispensaries enter the market—it’s also about protecting those already in operation.
"What this effectively does is grandfather in and allow them to continue to operate their businesses, to transition from offering both medical to offering recreational adult use."
However, some cannabis advocates, including Zoe Patchell of the Delaware Cannabis Advocacy Network, argue that SB 75 gives an unfair advantage to existing businesses.
"It creates two separate classes of rules for the same type of business—one for existing medical marijuana businesses, which would follow less restrictive zoning, and another for new businesses, which would have to follow stricter rules,"
WBOC reached out to Sussex County officials for comment, but they declined at this time.
SB 75 has been assigned to committee, but no hearing date has been set. Officials say the bill would not affect zoning ordinances adopted by municipalities.