Minnesota awarded 249 recreational marijuana business licenses during a Thursday lottery held roughly two years after the state legalized adult use.
The state Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) selected the winners from a pool of 776 qualified social equity applicants for capped-license types, including cultivator, manufacturer, retailer and mezzobusiness, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
“This is an exciting day for business owners preparing to establish themselves in the state’s new adult-use cannabis market,” OCM Interim Director Eric Taubel said in a statement.
“We’re setting a strong foundation for an equitable and safe adult-use cannabis market that will mature over the next few years.”
The lottery initially was scheduled for November 2024, but some applicants that were denied access sued the OCM, claiming that the process lacked clear criteria and didn’t allow for appeals.
Then, in April, a judge ordered the OCM to hold a lottery to issue the licenses to social equity applicants, saying the agency had a legal obligation to do so.
Lottery winners still must pass a criminal background check and secure a labor peace agreement to receive preliminary approval for a license.
More than 350 applicants seeking license types that are not capped, primarily for microbusinesses, also received preliminary approval, though beyond the lottery process.
Th 249 licenses were awarded only one day after disabled veteran Jason Grigg, a prospective social equity applicant, filed a lawsuit against the OCM alleging that his application was rejected because of a malfunction in the license application system, the Star Tribune reported.
The OCM is reviewing the lawsuit, spokesperson Josh Collins told the newspaper.
“We are confident in the policies and practices that resulted in today’s lottery drawings and look forward to working with selected applicants as they move through the final steps in obtaining a business license,” Collins said.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed an adult-use legislation into law in May 2023.
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