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Minnesota marijuana regulators will award more cannabis business licenses on July 22 via a livestreamed lottery, officials said.
Retail licenses will be available for both general applicants as well as marijuana social-equity hopefuls who did not win a permit in earlier lottery rounds, the Office of Cannabis Management said.
However, there is still no official launch date for Minnesota’s adult-use marijuana market.
Minnesota legalized adult-use marijuana in 2023, but progress to launch the recreational market has been slow.
It would be the 22nd state with legal sales once stores open.
The other states that have legalized adult-use cannabis but have yet to launch sales are Delaware and Virginia.
Minnesota marijuana licensing moving slowly
In June, the OCM awarded 249 recreational marijuana business licenses to qualified social equity applicants for capped-license types, including cultivator, manufacturer, retailer and so-called “mezzo businesses,” or vertically integrated small operators.
However, winning the lottery does not mean entering the industry.
Lottery winners still must pass a criminal background check and secure a labor peace agreement to receive preliminary approval for a license.
Regulators had received 3,529 applications for one of 10 license types as of March 24.
Nearly half the applicants are social equity applicants.
The OCM is partnering with digital lottery drawing system Smartplay International and tax advisory firm Baker Tilly to conduct the lottery.
First Minnesota adult-use marijuana sales likely tribal
The first legal sale in Minnesota is poised to be at a tribal dispensary.
The state reached its first compact agreement with Native American tribe White Earth Band, which became the first adult-use cannabis store to open in Minnesota.
And in the meantime, state officials are already making tweaks to cannabis law.
The state Senate already has raised taxes, approving a bill to increase the “special sales tax” applied to cannabis from 10% to 15%.
That’s in addition to the state’s 6.875% sales tax.
When combined, Minnesota’s marijuana tax is now the fourth-highest in the country, according to the Tax Foundation.
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