Two lawsuits aiming to stop state lottery for cannabis licenses in Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS — Two lawsuits, filed against the Office of Cannabis Management, are aiming to stop a lottery for cannabis licenses in Minnesota.
The lawsuits were filed by applicants seeking one of the initial "preapproved" licenses ahead of Tuesday's scheduled lottery.
One lawsuit, filed by six applicants on Friday, claims the office improperly denied their licensing applications, and want a temporary injunction to prohibit the office from holding Tuesday's lottery.
In response, the office released a statement saying:
"The Office of Cannabis Management stands by the process used to review applications for license preapproval. We look forward to holding the lottery on Tuesday."
Another lawsuit, filed Thursday by two other applicants who were denied, asserts the office "failed to adequately disclose the basis for the agency's decision."
One applicant, according to court documents, said they did not receive a denial email from the office. Another applicant said her application had been denied, but was given no explanation document or any additional instructions.
In response, Charlene Briner, interim director for the office, said the following:
"We remain committed to weeding out bad actors who seek to overwhelm the system at the expense of legitimate, prospective business owners."
State regulators denied 1,169 of 1,800 social equity applicants seeking the roughly 280 first licenses to be issued, according to a spokesperson for the office. Failure to meet statutory requirements, and inconsistencies in documentation and the absence of required information were among the reasons the office denied.
According to the OCM, Minnesotans need to meet the criteria of a "social equity applicant." Those include veterans, farmers just starting their careers in agriculture, residents from neighborhoods with high levels of poverty and people convicted of certain possession or sale of cannabis before lawmakers legalized it last year, among others.
On Thursday, a spokesperson for OCM said individuals who did not receive a denial notice should not assume they are in the lottery, and that the office was still doing final reviews.