Minnesota would tweak cannabis business licensing process under bill at capitol
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Marijuana is legal for recreational use in Minnesota thanks to a law approved last session. But just how the state will roll out the new legal market by next year's target date is up for debate.
Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, the lead author on the bill legalizing cannabis, introduced a catch-all bill Wednesday with changes to the current law that includes several provisions brought forward at the capitol this year.
One revision would change the process for the Office of Cannabis Management to consider who gets a business license to cultivate, manufacture and sell cannabis in retail stores, trading a merit points-based system weighing a number of qualifications to "score" and prioritize applicants for a lottery system instead.
Those seeking a license would still have to meet certain criteria before entering that pool, but then licensees would be chosen at random.
It's a key element of a proposal backed by the cannabis office that interim director Charlene Briner said will keep the state on track to meet the social equity goals of the bill — giving Minnesotans disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition an opportunity to cash in on legalization.
Briner noted national statistics showing the legal market in other states is dominated by white men.
"In terms of creating the sort of diverse marketplace and opportunity for a broad range of candidates and applicants, we've not seen the kind of success that clearly Chapter 342 [of statute] is looking for us to achieve," she said of other states' methodologies for awarding licenses.
But the proposal is sparking backlash from some in the industry who fear leaving who gets a license to chance will undo the work of the legislature to make the process equitable. Last week, several people testified against the plan, asking lawmakers to keep the law as is.
"There are folks who qualify as social equity candidates, who over the last year have been taking on a great deal of risk to prepare for this. And by now, moving them into a lottery system, it puts them on the same playing field as folks who maybe have not put as much time into it," said Rep. Anne Neu Brindley, R-North Branch on Wednesday.
The legislation keeps the "temporary" licenses pitched by the cannabis office to give businesses a head start on planning for market launch next year. Applications could open for those as soon as this summer, but having one does not mean seeds will go into the ground or retail sales will happen any sooner.
It's why Stephenson renamed them as "pre-approved" licenses — he believes the name better reflects their purpose.
"Those pre-approvals don't actually allow people to sell plants or grow plants, so it's just kind of a sign that you will get a license down the road," he told the committee. "Pre-approval, I think, is a better description for what we're talking about here."
His proposal also allows medical cannabis patients to designate a registered caregiver to grow plants on their behalf if their condition or living situation prevents them from growing on their own. Last year's law allows Minnesotans to grow up to eight plants without a license.
But he did not include doubling the number of plants allowed for home-growing, which was part of the initial bill from his DFL colleague in the House. There's an additional measure giving doctors more authority to determine if a person's medical condition qualifies them for the medical program.