An administrative judge has approved draft rules for Minnesota’s recreational cannabis market, bringing the state one step closer to issuing licenses to cannabis-related businesses.

The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management said the rules were approved on Wednesday without any recommended changes and will be published in the state register later this month.

“The adoption of rules is the most significant step to launching the cannabis market because the office cannot issue business licenses until they are in place,” said Interim Director Eric Taubel. “The judge’s approval of our proposed rules without changes shows that we did our work to engage with the prospective cannabis business community and put together a reasonable structure for ensuring consistency, safety, and equity in Minnesota’s cannabis industry.”

Roughly 200 social equity applicants who were pre-approved for non-capped business license types — including single-store “microbusinesses” — will be the first to receive licenses once the rules go into effect. Applicants in this group represent communities that have been historically harmed by prohibition, such as veterans, people of color and people who have been convicted of low-level marijuana offenses.

“It was important for us to preserve early-mover advantages for social equity applicants envisioned by the Legislature,” said Jess Jackson, OCM’s director of social equity. “By ensuring the applicants who qualified during license preapproval have the first chance at licenses once rules are approved, we are continuing to prioritize social equity in every stage of licensing.” 

Applicants for capped license types will be selected through lotteries this summer — one exclusively for social equity applicants and another for general applicants.

A state senator and a cannabis business consultant told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that the time to get testing facilities up and running will likely mean that dispensaries won’t be widespread until sometime next spring.