Cannabis
in Delaware

Adults 21 and older in Delaware may possess, use, transport and give away small amounts of cannabis without payment. The personal-use limit is one ounce of leaf, or 12 grams of concentrate, or 750 milligrams of THC in edibles, and these are alternatives rather than a combined allowance. Cannabis must travel in a closed container out of easy reach of passengers. Registered medical patients have a larger allowance of up to six ounces of usable cannabis, and dispensary purchases are capped at three ounces in any 14-day period. Buying from an unlicensed seller remains illegal. Adult-use retail sales opened on August 1, 2025, under the Delaware Marijuana Control Act.

Adult-use cannabis in Delaware is limited to people aged 21 and older, a threshold confirmed by the City of Dover and state enforcement agencies. Those under 21 who are caught with cannabis face a civil violation and fine for a first offense, and repeat violations can become criminal misdemeanors. The medical program has a lower floor. The Office of the Marijuana Commissioner accepts patients from age 18, and younger patients can qualify with a parent's consent, provided they are certified by a practitioner in an approved pediatric specialty. Caregivers must be at least 21 unless they are the parent or legal guardian of the minor patient. Patients 65 and older have their own application route.

Delaware's legalization did not extend to growing cannabis at home. Adults may possess and use cannabis, but cultivating plants for personal use remains illegal, and the research for this page does not identify any home-grow allowance for medical patients either. Instead, the supply comes through licensed businesses: medical compassion centers, adult-use retailers, and licensed cultivation and manufacturing facilities. Local governments add their own zoning on top of state licensing. In Dover, for example, commercial cultivation is limited to manufacturing, industrial park and agricultural zones and must sit at least 750 feet from homes, schools and similar sites. None of the research points to pending legislation that would legalize home cultivation.

The Office of the Marijuana Commissioner is Delaware's cannabis regulator. It licenses and oversees the adult-use industry created by the Delaware Marijuana Control Act, and it now also runs the Medical Marijuana Program, which moved over from the Division of Public Health. The medical statute, Chapter 49A of Title 16 of the Delaware Code, places the program within the Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Enforcement in the field involves the Division of Alcohol, Tobacco and Marijuana Enforcement. Municipalities keep a role as well: they may regulate where cultivation, manufacturing, testing and retail businesses can operate through local zoning ordinances, which is why rules differ between towns.

Adult-use cannabis purchases in Delaware carry a 15 percent retail marijuana tax. Delaware has no general sales tax, so no additional state or local sales tax is layered on top. Registered medical patients are exempt from the 15 percent tax entirely, which is one of the main financial reasons adults who qualify still register as patients. The research for this page comes from a medical card service rather than the state tax authority, and it does not describe how the revenue is distributed or whether local governments may add their own levy, so those points are left open here. Medical patients also pay registration fees to the Office of the Marijuana Commissioner, covered under application requirements.

Adults in Delaware may use cannabis on private property, but public use is prohibited. That ban covers public areas, moving vehicles and anywhere within 10 feet of public buildings, entrances or windows. Even at home, consumption is expected to happen at least 10 feet from sidewalks and property lines. The research for this page does not identify any licensed lounge or on-site consumption permit for dispensaries or retailers, so the law appears silent or restrictive on that point rather than permissive. Employers may ban use on their premises and discipline workers who are impaired on the job. Military personnel and federal property, including base housing at Dover Air Force Base, remain under federal prohibition.

Patients apply through the Delaware Medical Marijuana Program Portal run by the Office of the Marijuana Commissioner. Most applicants first need a written certification from a Delaware-licensed physician, osteopath, advanced practice registered nurse or physician assistant. For an online application, the certifying practitioner must be registered in the state system and must have seen the patient within the previous 90 days. Patients aged 65 and older can self-certify and skip the practitioner step, although they still submit an application. After the state fee is paid, applicants choose a card valid for one, two or three years, and the state issues both physical and mobile ID cards. Third-party services report cards arriving within about two weeks.

Delaware has effectively done away with a fixed qualifying-condition list. According to the Office of the Marijuana Commissioner, the requirement that a patient have a debilitating medical condition was removed, and a certifying practitioner may now recommend cannabis for any diagnosed condition where they judge it would provide therapeutic or palliative benefit. Chapter 49A of the Delaware Code still names conditions such as cancer, terminal illness, HIV/AIDS, ALS, PTSD, glaucoma, intractable epilepsy, chronic migraines, and conditions causing severe pain, nausea or muscle spasms, but these now serve as examples rather than limits. Patients aged 65 and older do not need a practitioner's certification at all.

Applicants must be Delaware residents and prove it with a Delaware driver's license or state ID. They must be at least 18, or younger with a parent's consent and a certification from a pediatric specialist in neurology, gastroenterology, oncology, psychiatry, developmental pediatrics or palliative care. The state fee is $50 for a one-year card, $75 for two years or $100 for three years. Since January 1, 2025, the program no longer accepts requests for low-income fee reductions. Caregivers must be Delaware residents, at least 21 unless they are a parent or guardian of the patient, pass state and federal criminal history checks, and may serve no more than five patients. They also need the patient's 10-digit registry number to apply.

How often a Delaware patient renews depends on the card they chose. The Office of the Marijuana Commissioner issues registry cards with one-, two- or three-year terms, priced at $50, $75 and $100 respectively, so a longer card means fewer renewals. Patients with a terminal illness receive cards with no expiration date and do not need to renew. For everyone else, renewal generally means obtaining a new practitioner certification, unless the patient is 65 or older and can self-certify, and resubmitting through the Medical Marijuana Program Portal with the fee. The research does not state how early before expiration a renewal may be filed, so patients should check the portal.

The Office of the Marijuana Commissioner's published guidance in the research for this page does not say directly whether a video visit counts toward a certification. What it does require is that, for online applications, the certifying practitioner be registered in the state system and have seen the patient within the past 90 days. Private certification services do offer telemedicine evaluations for Delaware patients and describe them as short consultations, with certifications typically issued within about 48 hours. Patients using a remote visit should confirm the practitioner is registered with the state before paying, since an unregistered practitioner's certification cannot be used in the online portal.

Delaware accepts medical patients from other states. Under changes described by the Office of the Marijuana Commissioner, holders of an out-of-state medical cannabis card can purchase at Delaware dispensaries after applying for reciprocal access, which carries a $20 fee. Applicants provide their home-state medical card and a state-issued ID to receive a visiting patient ID. Separately, any adult 21 or older, including visitors, can buy from licensed adult-use retailers without a medical card, though they pay the 15 percent retail tax and are held to the adult-use possession limit. Carrying cannabis back across state lines remains a federal offense regardless of either route.