On Wednesday, the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced that the cannabis business license preapproval window will open on July 24 for applicants who have been verified that they meet social equity eligibility requirements.
Informational and technical resource materials needed to complete an application are already available on OCM’s website.
This is the next step applicants need to take to be considered in the launch of Minnesota’s new cannabis industry.
The application window for social equity business license preapproval will be open from July 24 through Aug. 12. Business license applications and all required documentation are submitted through OCM’s website.
Submitted business license applications will go through a review and vetting process, and if qualified, be entered into a lottery which will award licenses in nine different categories. The first license lottery will be held this fall.
Completing social equity verification
Anyone who intends to apply for license preapproval in this round must have received social equity verification in order to proceed with the license application. The initial opportunity for applicants to have their social equity status verified closed on Wednesday, July 10, at 11:59 p.m. For those who submitted their application for verification by the July 10 deadline, the third-party vendor will work with you to complete the process to determine verification status.
Those who did not participate in or fully complete the verification process this initial round will have opportunities to participate in SEA verification and licensing application rounds at a later date.
Information relevant to future social equity verification, including the timing, will be shared via the OCM website. General licensing is anticipated in 2025.
For more information, visit mn.gov/ocm.
