ST. PAUL, Minn. (GRAY) – Minnesota’s cannabis market could be just a few months away from finally rolling out. The state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) kicked off its license application process earlier this week.
The office laid out a new timeline in December after announcing the cancellation of license pre-approvals due to legal issues. Jim Walker, public information officer for the OCM said it was a setback, but they wanted to ensure a legal market by the end of 2025.
“It was disappointing, but we are fully committed to opening up cannabis businesses this year,” Walker said.
Following the new roadmap, applications opened to the general public on Feb. 18. Two days later, they had already seen a steady stream of applicants.
“Those reports are run in the mornings, and as of [Thursday the 20th], close of business, we received 64 applications, and about three-quarters of those were for micro-businesses,” said Walker.
General applicants for four of the ten business types will be capped in an effort to keep the market from being flooded in its opening months. Those caps will apply to mezzobusinesses, cultivators, manufacturers, and retailers and will be reassessed in July 2026.
Social equity applicants won’t be capped, and will receive their licenses once the OCM finishes drafting its rules.
“We are expecting the rules to be finalized within the next few weeks, and that’s going to be the Bible, essentially, of the cannabis market,” said Walker.
The OCM projects they’ll have the rules finished by the end of March. From there, social equity applicants will be reviewed in a rolling process, not a lottery. From there, it’s a matter of how fast the businesses can get themselves up and running.
“Depending on how much infrastructure each one of these applicants has they could be up and running within a matter of weeks,” Walker said.
Asked if we could see the first dispensaries by the end of the summer, Walker was optimistic.
“That’s a fair assessment,” he said.
The deadline for non-social-equity applicants to apply for a license is March 14.
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Minnesota’s cannabis market could be just a few months away from finally rolling out. The state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) kicked off its license application process earlier this week. Read More
