Second round of cannabis microbusiness applicants selected by random lottery drawing
Today, Missouri’s Division of Cannabis Regulation (DCR) posted the results of the random lottery drawing to award microbusiness licenses to applicants. This is the second of three separate rounds of microbusiness licenses to be awarded, per Article XIV, Section 2 of the Missouri Constitution.
Unique identifiers were used for the lottery process in order to maintain confidentiality. Applicants were provided their unique identifier prior to lottery which allows them to determine their lottery ranking. At this time, information regarding the applicants drawn by lottery is not available publicly. DCR will be working to cross-reference this information with submitted application information in order to make this information publicly available in the coming weeks.
More than 2,000 applicants applied between April 15-29. Now that applicants have been selected through the lottery, all selected applications will be reviewed for eligibility. The lottery selection does not guarantee the applicant a facility license. No later than August of this year, a total of 57 microbusiness licenses will be issued, nine of which are available from the first round of licensing, due to revocations for rule violations. There will be a total of 33 microbusiness wholesale facility and 24 microbusiness dispensary facility licenses awarded during this round.
Applicants not drawn by lottery in round two will be eligible to reapply during future rounds of licensing. Additionally, applicants not drawn by lottery will be able to request a refund of the original application fee. Refunds may be granted if the applicant certifies they have met the criteria for a license and have no pending or future litigation. The refund request form will be available on the Department website thirty days after round two of microbusiness licenses have been issued.
To ensure the integrity of the applicant selection process, the Missouri Lottery conducted the drawing without reference to the identities of the applicants. Applicants can identify their ranking within the lottery and can be found by visiting Cannabis.Mo.Gov.
For more information about microbusiness licensing and application requirements, visit Cannabis.Mo.Gov.
