
The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) said it will accept applications for cannabis business licenses beginning February 18 and ending March 14. During this license cycle, OCM will accept applications both from verified social equity applicants and from any applicant seeking to participate in general licensing in the following license types: microbusiness, mezzobusiness, cultivator, manufacturer, retailer, wholesaler, transporter, testing facility, delivery service, and medical cannabis combination business. Applications for cannabis event organizer licenses will be accepted later this summer; applications for lower-potency hemp edible manufacturer licenses and lower-potency hemp edible retailer licenses will be accepted in the fall.
What this means for capped license types and lotteries
For the four license types that are capped in state statute (cultivator, mezzobusiness, manufacturer and retailer), half of the available licenses are reserved for verified social equity applicants and half are available to all applicants. Qualified applicants in the four capped license types will be subject to a series of lottery drawings for distribution of these licenses. Lotteries for each license type will be conducted in two parts. The first part will be limited to only verified social equity applicants. If not selected, qualified social equity verified applicants will be entered into the second part—open to all applicants—for the remaining licenses available. This means social equity applicants may be provided with up to two opportunities to be entered into a lottery.
The exact timing of the lotteries will depend on the volume of applications for the available license types. As this is the first license cycle open to all applicants for 10 cannabis business license types, a high volume of applications is expected. OCM anticipates starting lotteries in the May-June timeframe.
What this means for uncapped license types and previously qualified applicants
Uncapped license types include microbusiness, wholesaler, transporter, testing facility, delivery service, and medical cannabis combination business. Applications for these license types will be reviewed on a rolling basis and because they do not involve a lottery, applicants will be able to begin their final steps to obtaining a license as soon as they are deemed qualified.
Among the applicants who were previously qualified for uncapped license types during the license pre-approval process, 211 applicants opted to move forward in this licensing cycle. Soon after the window opens, they will receive instructions for completing requirements to provide a labor peace agreement, pass a background check, secure local zoning compliance and site registration approvals, and pass an inspection. Upon completing these requirements and the official adoption of rules—expected by the end of March—these applicants could receive licenses this spring.
What this means for previously denied applicants
OCM will send a request for more information to applicants who were denied in the license preapproval process and who opted to continue to the next licensing cycle. In contrast to the license preapproval process, which had greater time constraints and was oriented toward assessing readiness, applicants will have an opportunity to correct a broader range of errors in their applications.
True party of interest protections
OCM will continue to enforce Minnesota’s true party of interest and ownership protections through vetting at the preliminary application review stage and then through additional due diligence of qualified applicants once advanced to the next phase of the application process. The office will continue to identify actions in violation of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 342, and to pursue all legal recourse available, which may result in a five-year prohibition on obtaining a cannabis license.
Available licenses by type
Below is the total number of available cannabis business licenses for applicants during the Feb. 18-March 14 licensing window:
Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management