Minnesota extends deadline for cannabis business applications after system outage

People seeking cannabis business licenses have a little more time to apply, after Minnesota extended the deadline following an outage Friday in its application system.

License-seekers now have until noon Sunday, March 16, to submit their applications. The original deadline for prospective business owners was the end of Friday.

Applicants must submit their materials through the Accela software system, which shut down for a while Friday but is once again operational, according to a notification on the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) website.

However, the office noted the system will require additional maintenance from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, “which may cause additional disruptions to the service.“

OCM “will continue to monitor its customer service inbox over the weekend,” but responses may be delayed, according to the alert.

Both general applicants and social equity applicants who submitted materials in a previous round and were rejected can seek licenses during this window, which opened Feb. 17. The state tentatively plans to hold lotteries for licenses in May or June.

Minnesota plans to give out 324 “capped” licenses in the spring lotteries, with half of each sort of license reserved for social equity applicants.

The four license types that are capped under state law include cultivators, manufacturers, retailers and mezzobusinesses — which can handle multiple steps, including growing, selling and buying cannabis products.

Applicants can also seek uncapped licenses of other types, including wholesaler, transporter and testing facility.

Louis Krauss of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this report.