rewrite this title and make it good for SEOMinnesota cannabis business licenses resold as regulators dawdle

Roughly 1,400 Minnesota cannabis businesses are waiting for final regulator approval to enter the market more than a month after the first non-tribal sale.

In the meantime, the few cannabis licenses that are available are selling for seven figures, or 100 times the permits’ face value, according to Fox affiliate KMSP.

State law caps the number of certain permits available.

In a situation one Minnesota marijuana entrepreneur compared to ticket scalping, available cultivator and retailer permits are selling for more than $1 million, the television station reported.

Minnesota cannabis businesses for sale while approvals await

According to KMSP, “at least 80 licenses” have been advertised for sale in Minnesota, where non-tribal sales began in September.

That’s despite the state still having only a fraction of the 1.5 million square feet of cultivation space required to service the market, Eric Taubel, director of the state’s Office of Cannabis Management, said recently.

One example of the 80 licenses for sale is a Wendy’s restaurant location in Roseville that has city approval for one of three retail licenses allowed in town, KMSP reported.

Sales in Minnesota could reach $430 million by the end of 2026, according to an MJBiz Factbook projection.

License transfers are legal but are subject to OCM approval.

Only 60 Minnesota marijuana business licenses issued

As of earlier this month, state regulators had issued permits for 60 businesses.

An additional 1,411 have received preliminary approval but still await final clearance, according to state data.

Only two of the licensed businesses are cultivators, though 13 of 52 licensed “microbusinesses” can cultivate.

Critics say that the license speculation is the result of licenses being issued via lottery rather than on a “merit-based” scored application.

But Minnesota cannabis entrepreneurs may also be taking advantage of early market interest.