Judge orders Minnesota to delay its cannabis license lottery

Cannabis license applicants say the process was unfair

About 640 applicants for social equity marijuana licenses will head to the lottery with about 280 total available, but some say the process wasn’t fair. FOX 9's Corin Hoggard has the details.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A judge has ordered Minnesota to pause its cannabis license lottery amid lawsuits brought by applicants who were denied a chance at an early license approval.

What we know

During a hearing on Monday, a day before the lottery was supposed to take place, a judge ordered the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management to pause the process.

The decision comes as denied applicants are questioning the state's decisions. One lawsuit claimed the Office of Cannabis Management failed to properly notify them about their denial.

Applicants also claim the state rushed ahead with the lottery, initially hinting to applicants it would take place in December before announcing last week it would take place on Tuesday.

Context

Last week, the Office of Cannabis Management announced about 640 applicants were approved to take part in the lottery for 280 licenses. In total, more than 1,800 applicants filed for a chance at the lottery.

FOX 9 spoke with denied applicants who felt they were wrongly rejected. In a statement, Office of Cannabis Management interim director Charlene Briner said: "The review process also revealed a high number of applications that were inconsistent with the protections in law designed to prevent predatory practices, ‘zone flooding’, and other attempts to game the system to gain unfair or illegal advantage."

In the following days, four lawsuits were filed over the rejections, which were ultimately combined into a single case.

Background

The State of Minnesota legalized cannabis back in August 2023. The law initially legalized possession of cannabis in Minnesota and created the Office of Cannabis Management, which was tasked with developing the framework for business licensing.

As part of its licensing processes, the state allowed for license preapproval for "social equity applicants" – people and relatives of people with past cannabis convictions, people from disadvantaged communities, and/or military veterans.

Applications for general business licenses are expected to open up in 2025.

Currently in Minnesota, cannabis sales are only allowed on tribal lands.