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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.
What's next?
As part of his ruling, the judge sent the case to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. It's unclear how long this might delay the lottery.
What they're saying
The Office of Cannabis Management released the following statement on the judge's decision:
"While we are disappointed by the decision to prevent OCM from moving forward with the license preapproval lottery tomorrow, we stand by the process used to review applications. Minnesota’s approach has always aimed to protect the integrity of a social equity license, and the rigorous review also allowed us to identify and prevent bad actors from entering the system. State statute sets high standards for applicants to successfully complete applications while also filtering out those with malicious intent.
"We remain committed to launching an equitable, sustainable, and responsible adult-use cannabis marketplace in Minnesota."