Bill would cut out hemp shops, restrict sales of THC drinks in Delaware to liquor and cannabis stores, microbreweries

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Sales of THC-infused drinks in Delaware would be restricted to liquor and marijuana retail stores and microbreweries in a second legislative attempt to regulate the popular intoxicating beverages.

The drinks, which do not contain alcohol and are marketed with names like Bliss Day, BRĒZ, Enjoy and Orange Crush, would also have to be tested at a state-sanctioned cannabis lab.

A tax of 50 cents would also be levied on each can, which must be at least 12 ounces and not contain more than 10 milligrams of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

Sales would be forbidden, however, at CBD stores, smoke shops, other retail outlets and at restaurants and bars — some of which currently have the drinks available for customers. Companies that sell the products online also would not be able to legally fulfill orders from Delaware.

The latest legislative proposal rankles Jesse Ginefra, who owns the Botana Organics CBD store north of Wilmington. His boutique shop, where new age music provides a distinctly zen vibe, features a display cooler that offers customers a few varieties of one of his “hot-selling products” — chilled THC-infused beverages.

“Obviously it’s going to cut out some of the people who have established this industry in Delaware,” said Ginefra, who questioned why liquor stores and microbrewers whose product is alcohol would be permitted to sell the THC drinks.

“So that would definitely hurt us a lot, and I think the thing that would hurt us most is not just the bottom line but just the fairness and the equity of it all.”

‘Liquor stores are more accustomed to following regulations’

The bill now before lawmakers is an expansion of last spring’s measure, which mandated that only liquor stores could sell the THC drinks, but cut out all other vendors, including operators of the state’s marijuana retail stores, which opened in August.

CBD and marijuana advocates had roundly criticized the previous bill as a gift to the liquor industry.

The lead sponsor, state Rep. Deborah Heffernan, pulled the measure from consideration in June, however, just days after a WHYY News article detailed the controversial proposal.

Her latest bill adds the 13 recreational marijuana stores that have opened and the microbreweries to liquor stores as vendors who would be allowed to sell the THC drinks to the public. Liquor stores and brewers would also have to obtain a permit.

For liquor stores, THC drinks would have to be in a “designated section” that’s apart from other alcohol and nonalcohol drinks, “with clear signage that states the products contain THC,” according to the bill.

Heffernan did not respond to a WHYY News request for comment. But state Rep. Ed Osienski, a fellow sponsor and architect of the 2023 bills that legalized marijuana and created the regulated market for buds, gummies, vapes and other cannabis products, said the renewed proposal makes sense.

“Liquor stores are better equipped and have more experience selling intoxicating products to the Delaware public. Infused beverages are intoxicating,” the Newark Democrat said. “And so I feel that liquor stores are more accustomed to following regulations, being overseen by the liquor control board, and they would do a better job of making sure the public is safe and this product does not get in the hands of” adults who are at least 21 years old.

He said Heffernan was wise to include the recreational cannabis stores as permitted venues for the beverage that contains marijuana’s psychoactive ingredient.

“You can’t even get past the front door unless you show an ID for any of the marijuana retailers,” Osienski said. “So yeah, I think they’re quite prepared for that.”

Josh Sanderlin, Delaware’s marijuana commissioner, said he’s pleased the bill includes retail weed stores but doesn’t have any issue with liquor stores or microbreweries.

“It’s the right way to go because the products are coming into the state already,’’ Sanderlin said. “They’re being sold in liquor stores, which is a responsible age-gated area.”

Sanderlin said safety is also paramount, and wants the drinks tested at a licensed state lab.

“The bill really tries to strengthen Delaware’s oversight over these drinks, which right now, as you know, is nil,” he said. “Trying to ensure that these actors are responsible and that the products being consumed are accurately labeled, but also don’t contain any harmful chemicals or pesticides or anything of that nature is imperative.”

Osienski and Sanderlin discounted objections by Ginefra and other hemp store dealers.

“We have stores that sell marijuana and those are the [retail] dispensaries,” Sanderlin said. “The hemp market is a shadow market of the marijuana marketplace and they’re undermining the whole marketplace right now.”

Because it includes a tax, the bill requires a three-fourths vote in the House and Senate.

The tax would be charged when a Delaware wholesaler sells the THC drinks to a liquor or weed store, or when a microbrewer who receives a permit sells to a customer for off-site consumption.