Opinion: The state said yes to cannabis equity. Olmsted County says wait.

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of guest commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

•••

When Minnesota legalized cannabis, it promised to build an industry rooted in equity, one that would prioritize the very people harmed most by prohibition: Black, brown, immigrant and working-class Minnesotans. That promise gave hope to hundreds of us, including those of us applying for cannabis licenses under the state’s social equity provisions.

But today, that hope is being undermined not just by state bureaucracy but by local governments creating new barriers of their own. Cannabis equity is being turned into a lottery, and the biggest gamble now is not at the state level. It is with counties like Olmsted.

While the state prepares for its June 5 cannabis license lottery, Olmsted County is planning an additional local lottery, even for applicants already approved by the state. In other words, after surviving one competitive process, equity applicants must now survive another just to open a business in their own community.

That is not implementation. That is obstruction.

I am a qualified social equity applicant and one of the plaintiffs who sued and successfully challenged the state’s flawed license preapproval process. That victory gave hundreds of people another chance. But now, we are being stalled again, this time by counties that are uncertain, unprepared or unwilling to register applicants promptly.

Olmsted County is also proposing an added barrier: requiring applicants to submit proof of funds to qualify for the local lottery. I have already spent thousands securing a compliant retail location, hiring legal counsel and preparing a full business plan, only to be told I may now need to prove I can afford the process before even getting a chance to compete again.

This kind of screening favors investors, not equity.

The law requires that every jurisdiction allow at least one retailer per 12,500 residents. That includes counties and cities. But some are treating that number as a ceiling, not a floor, and then stacking extra requirements on top like redundant lotteries, delayed timelines, unclear zoning and now, financial vetting.

Let me be clear. Cannabis equity was never meant to be left to local discretion. The Legislature passed a law with a clear mandate to prioritize communities most harmed by prohibition. That equity cannot be honored if counties are allowed to quietly screen us out, especially when we have already been approved by the state.

This is especially harmful to equity applicants who do not have time or capital to burn. Many of us are self funded, community driven and already on borrowed time. Every delay increases our risk and favors those with more capital, more connections and more cushion.

What Minnesota needs now is structure. We need a blueprint, not just at the state level but one that counties and cities are required to follow.

That blueprint should include:

The Office of Cannabis Management should issue emergency guidance clarifying that equity applicants approved by the state are eligible for registration without local delays or second lotteries. Legislators must make it clear that equity does not stop at the State Capitol. It must live at every level of government.

Equity is not just about who can apply. It is about who actually gets to open and operate. Right now, local governments like Olmsted County are making that harder, not easier.

We did not legalize cannabis to keep marginalized people waiting in line again.

We do not need more lotteries.

We do not need new hurdles.

We need a blueprint.

And we need it now.

Mohamed Abdi is a cannabis social equity applicant and was a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management. He lives in Minneapolis.