Lottery could decide if Minnesota dispensaries open in 2025
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Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
The state of Minnesota starts accepting cannabis business licenses Tuesday.
Why it matters: How the process goes will determine when dispensaries and other parts of the state's new legal cannabis market get off the ground.
The big picture: Minnesota legalized recreational pot in 2023, but state-licensed stores and grow operations have yet to launch.
Catch up fast: Hopes of an early 2025 debut were dashed after the state scrapped plans for an earlier preapproval process for social equity applicants amid a court challenge.
- Gov. Tim Walz said last week that he believes the state is still on target for opening stores sometime this year.
What to expect: State officials expect to issue the licenses sometime in May or June, following lotteries for eligible applicants run by the Office of Cannabis Management.
- Proposed businesses, which include cultivators, retailers and testing facilities, have until March 14 to get their applications in.
Yes, but: It could take a few more months for cannabis retailers to actually open, as licenses are also needed to grow the crop for state-approved dispensaries.
- Leili Fatehi, a cannabis consultant who helped draft the legalization law, tells Axios any retail launch this year would likely be at a "very small scale because there's just not going to be enough supply."
Threat level: Expected litigation over this application process could further delay the timeline, Fatehi cautioned.
Reality check: More dispensaries will open across the state soon regardless of how the state licensing process shakes out, thanks to compacts allowing tribal nations in Minnesota to launch their own off-reservation stores.
- That head start — which follows the creation of four existing dispensaries on tribal land — may discourage some non-tribal businesses from applying for state licenses over fear that they'd be at a competitive disadvantage, Fatehi said.
