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Hundreds seek social equity cannabis business license in first 24 hours of program
More than 700 Minnesotans began requesting pre-approval for adult-use marijuana business licenses within the first 24 hours of the start of the social equity licensing program.
The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management is giving social equity applicants — from veterans to new farmers, to those who have faced historic harms from the war on drugs — a head start on business licenses.
The office encouraged people to submit their applications early. Interim director Charlene Briner told MPR News on Tuesday morning that the hundreds of applications indicate a “significant level of interest” in the emerging industry.
However, verification is just the first step.
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“And that doesn’t necessarily mean that every person who has entered the system and applied for that status will actually follow through and submit a full license. So that remains to be seen,” Briner said. “But I think we’re excited about the high level of activity.”
Full license applications open for entrepreneurs on July 24th. OCM will review applicants’ business plans, safety and security plans, labor peace agreements, ownership structure, capitalization tables, and more during its vetting process. Successful applications then go into a lottery, as the number of licenses is limited as dictated by laws passed during the last few legislative sessions.
Briner says good work by the Legislature and advocates’ participation in the legislative process will help avoid legal challenges as seen in other statesin addition to acquisitions by large entities of equity company owners who did not have the capital to support their companies.
“We’re unique [in] “We’re looking at some of the protections that were added in this year’s legislative session to really protect this type of cottage industry model and make sure that businesses are prepared to succeed in a very volatile market,” Briner said. “We’re confident that we’re in the best possible position to continue to launch.”
The timeline for when licenses turn into businesses is still nebulous and depends largely on the number of applicants, according to Briner. The office will know more on Aug. 12, when the licensing window closes, she believes.