Delaware Moves to Regulate THC-Infused Beverages

DOVER – Delaware’s Senate Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology Committee advanced House Bill 373, sending the measure to the Senate Finance Committee and bringing it a step closer to a full Senate vote. The action follows the bill’s passage in the House on June 16, which cleared by a 34-5 margin.

The legislation, filed by Rep. Debra Heffernan (D) and cosponsored by Reps. Edward Osienski (D), Nnamdi Chukwuocha (D) and Alonna Berry (D) along with Sens. Daniel Cruce (D), Stephanie Hansen (D) and Raymond Seigfried (D), would amend Titles 4 and 16 of the Delaware Code to create a statewide system for manufacturing, distributing and selling THC-infused beverages.

Under the proposal, beverages containing up to 10 milligrams of delta-9 THC per container could be sold at licensed package stores and recreational Cannabis retailers, with microbreweries eligible for a separate permit to sell for off-premises consumption. CBD shops, smoke shops, restaurants and bars would be excluded from the approved channels, and companies shipping the drinks directly to consumers could no longer fill Delaware orders. Manufacturers would need to source THC exclusively from hemp oil, route products through licensed importers, and submit beverages for lab testing before sale.

The bill sets a 50-cent tax per container, collected at the wholesale level, with revenue directed to the state’s Marijuana Regulation Fund. Civil penalties for sales to anyone under 21 would rise to as much as $10,000 for repeat violations, and broader violations tied to infused beverages could draw administrative fines of $250 or 10% of a licensee’s average monthly sales, whichever is greater. The measure would take effect 90 days after enactment and includes a sunset provision tied to any future federal reclassification of hemp as a controlled substance.

Not everyone backs the approach. The U.S. Hemp Roundtable has urged Delaware residents to oppose HB 373, arguing the bill’s retail restrictions and new licensing costs would shut out hemp retailers that currently sell the drinks.

HB 373 must still clear the Senate Finance Committee and a full Senate floor vote, then reach Gov. Matt Meyer’s desk, before Delaware’s legislative session adjourns June 30.

For operators and investors tracking the THC beverage category, Delaware’s bill is a useful case for how states are drawing retail lines around a product that alcohol distributors and Cannabis retailers both want to carry. A framework built around existing liquor and Cannabis licenses gives capital-intensive incumbents a clearer path to scale, while hemp retailers who built much of the category’s early customer base face a narrower set of options if the bill becomes law. With the legislative clock running out before adjournment, the coming days in Dover will determine which side of that line Delaware settles on.