Cannabis business license process sees delays

On December 11, the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced changes to their business licensing procedure – namely that they’re dropping the pre-approval initiative.

Initially, the OCM had a lottery for pre-approval for applicants the that met the state’s “social-equity” guidelines – such as those who live in high poverty areas or have past cannabis convictions.

“When OCM began planning for the licensing pre-approval process immediately following the 2024 legislative session, we took a very deliberate approach to the lens we would use to review applications and that was based on feedback of both legislators and advocates.” Said Charlene Briner, the OCM’s interim director.

However, the lottery, which was supposed to take place in November, was stopped by a judge after several applicants filed lawsuits, claiming they weren’t allowed in the lottery, despite qualifying. In light of this, the OCM decided to simply end pre-approval.

“The decision to end the license pre-approval process and move forward with standard licensing shortly after the new year has two primary benefits,” Briner said, “It preserves, at least in part, some of the early mover advantages for social equity applicants that were envisioned by the legislature in that pre-approval process. And secondly, it also keeps us moving forward towards a timely market launch in 2025.”

Those who applied for the initial lottery, over 600 individuals, will automatically be included in a new lottery that the state is planning to hold. One that will include both general and social equity applicants.

A firm date has not been set for the new lottery, the state has only given a tentative timeframe of May or June of 2025, and still expects the legal cannabis market to open up sometime in the coming year.

More information on the OCM can be found on their website.