As the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management prepares for its first-ever lottery, hundreds of applicants will compete for social equity licenses.

These licenses will grant 280 winners the ability to grow, process, and sell cannabis. They were selected from a pool of 1,817 pre-applicants.

Social equity applicants can include those convicted of marijuana crimes and their relatives; military veterans; those who lived in areas with high rates of cannabis enforcement and/or poverty; and small farmers.

Josh Collins, communications director for Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management, said a majority of applicants had out-of-state addresses. Minnesota does not have a residency requirement.

Applicants in the lottery include those located in Moorhead, Detroit Lakes and East Grand Forks.

Lottery winners will be able to have a head start in preparing their businesses for the official rollout in the spring. They will join pre-approved license holders who are allowed to start growing earlier.

“Another change that the Legislature made was this early start provision, to make sure that we do have that product available so those businesses that are approved with certain types of licenses will be beginning that work,” Collins said.

Minnesota regulators made a change in March to include veterans in the social equity program which is one reason for the higher number of applicants.

Another round of pre-applications should open this fall.

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