Minnesota delays cannabis license lottery ⏰

MINNESOTA
Minnesota delays social equity license lottery

What happened: Minnesota is delaying its long-awaited lottery to award cannabis business licenses for social equity applicants until at least May or June of next year, the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) said in a press release. 

The lottery, set to award licenses to those who applied under the state’s social equity criteria — those that have a cannabis-related conviction or a close family member with one — was set to happen in November.

But a number of groups who were denied entry into the lottery filed lawsuits and a court stayed the lottery.

Instead, the state says to prevent delays it will open both the social equity and standard business licensing cycle next year. 

Nearly 650 applicants were set to participate in the lottery this year. 

What they’re saying: “We remain committed to launching an equitable, sustainable, and responsible cannabis marketplace in Minnesota,” OCM Interim Director Charlene Briner said. 

“Our path forward ensures we remain on track to launch Minnesota’s new cannabis market and also preserves some of the social equity benefits that were at the heart of the preapproval process and that are foundational to the law as it was originally conceived.”

What’s next: For the 648 applicants who were set to participate in the November lottery, they’ll be automatically moved to the next one.

Minnesota first legalized cannabis in August of last year. Dispensaries now aren’t likely to open until the second half of next year, at the earliest. 

Here’s the timeline:

Why it matters: Setting up an equitable cannabis market that balances social equity goals with enough supply to meet demand is an immense challenge.

Social equity cannabis programs, like New York’s, have come under attack from those that say the government shouldn’t intervene and essentially pick and choose who gets to benefit from the new industry. New York dealt with multiple lawsuits over that question of fairness that slowed the industry’s rollout for everyone — social equity and big business alike.

Though Minnesota’s situation is a bit different, the state would be wise to heed New York’s lesson. Voters passed legalization in both Minnesota and New York specifically for the goal of using legalization as a form of “reparations” for the War on Drugs, among other reasons like freedom to consume and to create jobs. 

But without a properly functioning industry, those goals are next to impossible to meet. 

Either way, we hope Minnesota can get back on track. And we hope that more lawsuits don’t slow things down for everyone. The cannabis industry sorely needs a win and new opportunities for expansion — Minnesota is the next prize, but years of tumult won’t help.

Read more: Minnesota’s social equity cannabis license lottery postponed to late spring amid legal challenges.

-JB

“These are the people that are still in the cannabis industry and dedicated to it, right?” Cultivated’s editor-in-chief Jeremy Berke said on yesterday’s Live. “It was pretty good to see those people that — I’ve been going to MJBiz for nearly seven years now — were there in 2018 and are still in business. It’s quite remarkable. That gives me a little bit of optimism.”

Watch it here:

Dems call out Republicans on SAFER Banking 👀

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a tweet (xeet?) yesterday that Republicans were blocking his push to include the SAFER Banking Act, a cannabis banking bill that the industry sorely needs, in a must-pass spending bill. And today, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), quoted Schumer’s tweet blaming Republicans and said: “Let’s get it done NOW!” But despite their rhetoric, the path for the bill to be passed before the end of the year looks slim-to-none. 

For the bill to pass, 10 Republican Senators must vote in favor of it to clear the 60-vote filibuster threshold, and it’s not entirely clear if those votes are there. It’s possible that Schumer could bring it to a floor vote in a last-ditch attempt before the end of the year, but that’s unlikely.  

The Cannabist Company announced it launched the dreamt line of cannabis edibles in the Maryland market.

It looks like Mike Tyson flew straight from MJBizCon in Las Vegas to Mar-a-Lago to meet with RFK Jr. and Trump. We wonder if cannabis came up…

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