State cannabis regulators have started giving bad news to about two-thirds of the 1,817 social equity license applicants that they will not be entered into the first license lottery that is now expected to be held the week of Dec. 2.
Conversely, those one-third who will be moving on to the lottery — about 640 applicants — will be getting that word officially within two weeks. And that means their odds of getting one of the 280 so-called preapproval licenses just got a lot better. But wait for the letter, the Office of Cannabis Management said, because there is still a tiny chance something could be discovered to knock them out.
Those getting bad news failed to complete the complex applications process or engaged in improper actions such as making multiple applications — dubbed flooding the zone — or were disguising the true investors or the so-called true party of interest, the agency said.
"While the disappointment is understandable, the basic proxy for readiness is your ability to submit a successful application," said Charlene Briner, the interim director of the Office of Cannabis Management. The state "gave the answers to the test ahead of time" by detailing what is required inside the law revisions passed in May as well as how-to guides by OCM staff.
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