Minnesota's Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) had intended to hold a lottery to select applications for cannabis license pre-approval this week, which would have been a big step forward for the state's incoming recreational cannabis market. But those plans were put on hold today when judge halted the lottery amid multiple legal challenges.
According to Minnesota Public Radio, Ramsey County District Court Judge Stephen Smith delayed the lottery, seemingly in support of applicants who had sued the OCM after being denied a spot in the lottery. The OCM reportedly received more than 1,800 applications but on Friday announced that just 648 of those applications would make it through to the pre-approval lottery.
David Asp, an attorney representing some of the applicants suing the OCM, told the judge that the lottery process had been rushed and didn't leave enough time for rejected applicants to appeal.
“The state doesn’t dispute that our client will suffer irreparable harm if this order isn’t entered. That’s usually one of the main issues in an injunction, but it’s not a dispute here. Our clients will be harmed. As I said, more than $1,000,” Asp said, according to MPR. “The harm on the OCM side is entirely of their own making.”
The OCM said that each application underwent a rigorous review to ensure consistency with statutory requirements and baseline standards of readiness.
"More than a third of applicants were qualified and able to successfully complete the process, which included numerous statutory requirements, and more than a dozen documents, within a narrow statutorily defined window. Applicants that did not meet those requirements, including a substantial number that OCM identified as being in violation of the law or fraudulent, are not moving forward to the lottery," the office said in a press release.
