Once they qualify as a 'social equity applicant,' aspiring recreational marijuana entrepreneurs will enter into a lottery to decide the first license recipients.
According to the state's Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), Minnesota's aspiring adult-use cannabis business licensees will be allowed to begin that exciting and nerve-wracking process starting next week. After months of research, debate, and compromises, the Minnesota State Legislature finally announced the first tangible date for the greatly anticipated launch of the state's regulated recreational marijuana market.
As first reported by MJBizDaily, those individuals who qualify as 'social equity applicants' can begin the business application process for securing one of the highly coveted adult-use cannabis licenses starting on June 24.
Recognizing the importance of preparing the legal market for a Spring 2025 launch, the State Legislature has given the green light to a "preapproval" licensing process for the OCM. This process is crucial, allowing specific social equity businesses to start setting up their companies sooner rather than later, even as the rulemaking process is still in progress.
"We want to create an early-mover advantage in support of successfully standing up the cannabis industry. We believe in the social equity opportunities that the law creates. We also want to give people a chance to actually start doing some of the pre-work that is involved in standing up a very complicated business," Charlene Briner, interim director of the cannabis office, said in March about the plan.
– Charlene Briner, Interim Director of the MN Office of Cannabis Management
Prospective licensees must meet specific social equity status criteria to qualify for the early application process. Those individuals seeking classification as social equity applicants must either be:
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Military Veterans
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New Farmers
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Residents from neighborhoods with high levels of poverty
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Formerly convicted of possession or selling marijuana
Once the OCM verifies an individual as a qualified social equity applicant, they will be allowed to apply for an adult-use cannabis business license when the application window opens on June 24.
As part of the early vetting process, license applicants must include operating plans, employee training protocols, and security and industry experience in their applications. The OCM will then grant licenses through a somewhat controversial random lottery later in the year.
One of those hopeful license recipients is Nick Rahn, owner of The Warrior's Garden, which sells hemp-derived THC and CBD products. He is among 327,000 Minnesota veterans classified as social equity applicants and is eager to apply for one of the "early bird" preapproved licenses.
"Because I'm a veteran, I can apply early, which is great—especially the fact that we're already open and we intend to be a cannabis dispensary. It's going to make me feel a lot better if we get the license early so we can be prepared for January 1, when everything goes into motion," Rahn said.
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According to the OCM, specific license caps exist for different types of businesses in the preapproval process. Those caps include:
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Cultivator: 13
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Delivery: 10
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Manufacturer: 6
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Mezzo-business: 25
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Micro-business: 100
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Retailer: 38
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Testing lab: 50
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Wholesaler: 20
To ensure the overall strategy's success, Cultivators, mezzo-businesses, and micro-businesses will be granted first-to-market advantage and could commence cultivating plants as early as this fall. However, retail dispensaries granted preapproved licenses will not be allowed to begin selling products until rulemaking is complete and the market officially launches in 2025.
The portal to apply for license preapproval will be open from June 24 through August 12. After that time, the OCM will notify the lottery winners. Likewise, license applications for non-social equity applicants will open sometime next year.
