Eleven more potential cannabis businesses are moving forward in the licensing process after receiving social equity status from the state.
The Social Equity Council (SEC) held a meeting Wednesday morning to hear about more applications reviewed by accounting firm CohnReznick, the third-party company picked by the state to analyze paperwork and decide whether or not an applicant meets social equity status, as defined by state law.
Here are the license types the Social Equity Council acted on Friday morning:
- Six equity joint venture retailers were approved while one delivery service and one micro cultivator were each denied
- Two product manufacturers were approved, one was denied
- One food and beverage manufacturer was approved, four were denied
- One transporter was approved, one was denied
- One hybrid retailer was approved
- Names of these companies won’t be available until their applications are forwarded to the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP).
The next step in the process for companies that have been granted social equity status is getting a provisional license from the DCP. After that, a company has 18 months to get their business up and running before a final license is issued.
Social equity status was previously granted to four delivery service companies, three equity joint ventures, two micro cultivators, two product packagers, six dispensaries and 16 cultivators.
After Wednesday’s meeting, 44 applicants have had their social equity status approved and are moving forward with the licensing process for their potential cannabis business. In total, CohnReznick has reviewed 103 applications and recommended the denial of a majority, 59, based on social equity status.
Lottery applicants denied social equity status can either appeal the decision in superior court or automatically enter the general lottery, which will be conducted after social equity applications are approved.
