Lawsuit filed against Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management

(ABC 6 News) — On Friday, a lawsuit (Aranguiz and Connolly v. Office of Cannabis Management) was filed requesting that a judge halt the cannabis license lottery planned for next Tuesday.

The lottery is intended to give businesses a chance to obtain retail and delivery service licensing.

According to a civil complaint, the plaintiffs had their applications into the lottery denied, and both plaintiffs claim they did not receive substantial notice as to why they had been denied.

Plaintiff Connolly claimed that a denial email from OCM and instead had to check the application submission portal to find the denial. Connolly claimed OCM provided her no explanation document or any additional instructions.

Meanwhile, Plaintiff Aranguiz claimed she received a denial from OCM, but the explanation was cursory
and “made no sense in light of statutory requirements.”

The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) issued the following statement regarding a lawsuit filed on Friday:

“We remain committed to weeding out bad actors who seek to overwhelm the system at the expense of legitimate, prospective business owners.” 

That statement was credited to Charlene Briner, interim director of OCM.

OCM issued another statement later in the day that read:

“The Office of Cannabis Management stands by the process used to review applications for license preapproval. We look forward to holding the lottery on Tuesday.”