Some Minnesotans now able to apply for pre-approval for cannabis business license

MINNEAPOLIS — Applications opened Wednesday to begin the process of starting some of the state’s first legal marijuana dispensaries.

People already verified as social equity applicants can now apply for pre-approval for a cannabis business license.

Social equity applicants include people who were convicted of cannabis crimes, are veterans or live in high-poverty areas, to name a few of the possible criteria.

Angela Dawson is a fourth-generation farmer who qualified with her new venture, True North Farms.

“The area I farm in has a high poverty rate,” she said. “It has a high food insecurity rate, and it also has a high rate of policing in our area.”

Dawson wants to open three retail dispensaries, so she’s preparing her application for license pre-approval, which isn’t an actual license.

But there are advantages to having one.

“These license pre-approvals will allow some of those businesses to get seeds or plants into the ground this year,” said Josh Collins with the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management. “It’s going to be important if we’re going to have product on shelves when the marketplace fully opens next year.”

Collins says pre-approval can also give entrepreneurs a head start in launching their business, in areas such as securing funding or retail space.

Being pre-approved also gets people into a lottery this fall for a limited number of actual licenses.

“The reason for the caps is we don’t want the marketplace to be flooded when it begins,” Collins said.

Dawson says the low chance of obtaining a license in the lottery is stressful, but simply being pre-approved is important for giving her time to build out her business’s infrastructure.

The Office of Cannabis Management says besides the few tribal dispensaries already open, businesses for everyone else won’t be coming around until at least next year.

David Schuman

David joined the WCCO team in April 2020, previously working at CBS 58 in Milwaukee. Prior to that, he worked in Las Vegas. While there, David covered several stories in the national spotlight, including the October 1 mass shooting and political visits from President Barack Obama and candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.