The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management (OC) awarded 249 cannabis business licenses last week during the state’s first cannabis licensing lottery.
The virtual lotteries were streamed online via YouTube on Thursday. The lotteries covered social equity applicants and general applicants seeking cannabis cultivator, manufacturer, and mezzobusiness licenses. Officials also held a fourth lottery for social equity applicants seeking a retailer license. Winning applicants have moved to the final steps of the licensing process.
“This is an exciting day for business owners preparing to establish themselves in the state’s new adult-use cannabis market. We’re setting a strong foundation for an equitable and safe adult-use cannabis market that will mature over the next few years.” — OCM Interim Director Eric Taubel, in a press release
OCM will hold a follow-up general lottery for retail licenses on July 22, and social equity applicants who were not selected during the initial lottery will have another chance at winning a license. In Minnesota, social equity applicants include people who were previously convicted of a cannabis crime, military veterans, and people living in areas with higher poverty rates or historically high rates of cannabis enforcement, among other qualifications set by the state.
Additionally, there will be another lottery later in the summer for cannabis event organizer applications.
“There’s a lot of cannabis that needs to be grown, a lot of cannabis products that need to be manufactured, and today’s lottery will set the course for a number of those new operators to start to build in that capacity,” Taubel told Minnesota Public Radio.
Get daily cannabis business news updates. Subscribe
Ganjapreneur is made possible by our partners:
