Applications for recreational cannabis licenses in state near 40,000
Jul. 19—The Social Equity Council approved its first round of special applicants for recreational cannabis licenses last week, none of whom came from New London County.
The applicants hailed from Bridgeport, Hartford, Middletown, New Britain, Southington and Stamford.
In general, the cannabis licensing process is well underway in Connecticut, with almost 38,000 applications sent in as of last Friday.
According to the state Department of Consumer Protection (DCP), the application review process is underway but no licenses have been awarded yet via a lottery process. It is not yet disclosing where the applications came from nor identifying who applied.
Almost 24,000 of the applications come from social equity applicants, and the rest from general lottery applicants. Social equity applicants must have resided in a Disproportionately Impacted Area — a geographical area disproportionately impacted the war on drugs — for, at minimum, five of the last 10 years before applying for a license, or nine years before they turned 18. Their average household income must be less than 300% of the state median income over the three years before applying, and they must own at least 65% interest in a cannabis business. The state median income is about $80,000.
The equity applicant program is designed to allow these applicants to have an easier and separate process to start a marijuana enterprise, rather than competing with corporations.
Data shared by the DCP shows the number of applications for each of the eight license types: delivery service, food and beverage manufacturer, micro-cultivator, product manufacturer, product packager, cannabis retailer, cannabis transporter and medical hybrid retailer.
The micro cultivator license received the most attention, with 5,528 social equity and 2,936 general lottery applications. Medical hybrid retailer licenses received the second most applications, with 6,921 social equity and 1,296 general lottery applications. The product packager and transporter licenses have received the least attention, with each drawing less than 500 applications.
Recreational cannabis dispensaries won't open until, at the earliest, later this year. Existing medical cannabis businesses have to pay a fee of anywhere between $1 million and $3 million to enter the recreational market, depending on whether they partner with a social equity applicant.
"The Department has not reviewed the applications and cannot confirm that each application was completed properly or that each backer listed in the application submitted a backer application," the department's website reads. "Those counted as social equity applicants have self-identified as social equity applicants. The Social Equity Council has NOT reviewed the applications to verify social equity status."
Social Equity Council approvals
The applications on the DCP's website refer to lottery applications. What the 15-member Social Equity Council reviewed last week are a specific kind of application that bypass the lottery.
The 15-person Social Equity Council of state, social justice and civil rights professionals is meant to "oversee the verification of equity applicants, create new programs to support cannabis businesses and businesses in other industries, and manage the more general community investments derived from the cannabis tax revenue," according to the state's recreational cannabis webpage.
The council met last week and approved its first group of social equity applications, reviewing 41 such applications and approving 16 to be sent to the state DCP. The applications were for cultivator licenses and, under the 2021 recreational cannabis law, are not subject to the lottery process.
Ginne-Rae Clay, executive director of the Social Equity Council, said applicants must agree to locate their cultivation facility in a Disproportionately Impacted Area.
The thousands of pending applications are not daunting to the Social Equity Council, which will only be looking at winners of the lottery.
"All of the different types of licenses have a limited number of licenses that will be issued," Clay said.
She explained the lottery for special equity application will choose applications to be reviewed. If some of those applications don't meet the criteria of social equity, then the lottery will provide more to review.
The council has notified the applicants and the DCP of denials and approvals. The department will reach out to the qualifying individuals for next steps, including a background check before receiving the provisional license. They also have to pay the $3 million fee and organize their business.
"We are very excited about providing services to folks who have moved on and who met the licensing criteria," Clay said. "We'll provide programs that will help them stand up their businesses and be successful."
Clay said there were about four applicants who were denied because they did not meet the income threshold, around 16 that did not meet the ownership and control threshold and about 17 that did not meet residency requirements.
"If approved for provisional licenses, the applicants will have the opportunity to prepare for full licensure by the DCP to cultivate, grow and propagate adult-use cannabis at an establishment located in one of the state's Disproportionately Impacted Areas," a news release from the council reads.
