Just Released! Get realistic market forecasts, state-by-state insights and benchmarks with the new 2024 MJBiz Factbook member program, now with quarterly updates. Make informed decisions.
Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) has opened its first social equity business license application window for the state’s adult-use marijuana market.
The application period began Wednesday and will run until 11:59 p.m. CT on Aug. 12, the MinnPost reported.
To qualify for a social equity license, applicants must either be:
- Veterans.
- New farmers.
- Living in areas with high poverty levels.
- Formerly convicted of possession or selling marijuana.
The OCM noted that this advance application window “is designed for social equity applicants interested in early access to the cannabis market.”
The regulator said it hopes the early application window will translate into a first-mover advantage that will give social equity entrepreneurs a head start on getting their businesses ready.
Applicants that secure licenses in this round will be able to get a jump on financing, construction and other tasks needed to establish a business.
To obtain licenses, applicants must be verified as meeting social equity criteria and complete the preapproval application process.
They will then be entered in a September lottery for licenses that have been reserved for preapproved applicants, the MinnPost reported.
There are 280 licenses available in this round, including 100 for small businesses, cultivators and manufacturers.
According to the Minneapolis nonprofit news outlet, 3,144 applicants submitted the required documents proving their social equity designation.
Future application windows will be announced later, according to the OCM.
