Judge orders state cannabis agency to hold off on much anticipated license lottery this week

Tuesday’s much-anticipated lottery to narrow the number of applicants for a cannabis license in Minnesota has been put on hold.

At least 10 applicants filed lawsuits against the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), accusing the state of inappropriately rejecting applicants.

OCM says only about a third of the 1,820 applicants had advanced to the social equity lottery round, which was scheduled for Tuesday.

But Judge Stephen Smith said it’s not happening.

“There’s no lottery tomorrow,” the judge said at the end of the roughly hour-long hearing Monday morning.

Judge Smith issued a stay on the lottery to give all parties time to argue the case to an appellate court.

This is a developing story.