Minnesota’s First Cannabis Business Lottery Yields 249 Winners
In a highly anticipated event, the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) held its first lottery to license cannabis businesses, resulting in 249 winners. The lottery was held virtually and streamed on YouTube, with winners selected from a pool of 776 applicants.
Among the winners was Aaron Beauchaine, a partner in Meta Commercial Cannabis and a veteran who plans to open storefronts in the west metro area. He expressed relief and excitement at being selected, saying, “This morning was very nerve-wracking… Luckily, my number was called.”
Beauchaine plans to open up to five retail spaces, employing around 15 people at each location. He hopes to start operations by early 2026.
Not all applicants were successful, however. Many were left disappointed, including Marcus Harcus, an aspiring cannabis business owner from north Minneapolis, who said, “As someone who doesn’t gamble, these were not good gambling odds… It was very disheartening that something that I’ve been waiting for so many years was contingent on winning a lottery.”
Despite the disappointment, Harcus is holding out hope for a second lottery in July, which will include social equity applicants who were not selected in the first round.
The OCM also hired lottery facilitators with experience running cannabis lotteries to ensure a fair and transparent process.
The state’s cannabis industry is expected to grow rapidly, with winners now able to proceed with the licensing process, including a criminal background check. The OCM is also working on thousands of applications for uncapped licenses, including testing facilities and micro-businesses.
The first dispensaries are expected to open once cultivators can grow product for sellers and retailers can find or build shops. Minnesota’s tribal nations, which got a head start in the market, may be able to help by selling wholesale to non-tribal licensed retailers.
The OCM’s interim director, Eric Taubel, said, “There’s a lot of cannabis that needs to be grown, a lot of cannabis products that need to be manufactured, and today’s lottery will set the course for a number of those new operators to start to build in that capacity.”
