Cannabis business license lotteries are being put on hold in CT
There will be no more cannabis lotteries in Connecticut until at least the end of the legislative session, state officials have confirmed, with no firm plans on any lotteries in the future.
“At this time, a second lottery round has not been scheduled as the legislature continues to consider potential changes to the lottery process and social equity criteria,” said Department of Consumer Protection spokesperson Kaitlyn Krasselt. “Any statutory changes will be incorporated into the lottery process prior to the department conducting a second lottery round. Once a future lottery is scheduled, the details will be announced by the Department of Consumer Protection.”
Newly named DCP Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli said during a recent interview with Hearst Connecticut Media that, “It would not be prudent to proceed until the close of the legislative session.”
Though Cafferelli said DCP was waiting on legislation, neither state Rep. Jason Rojas, D-East Hartford, nor Deputy House Speaker Rep. Juan Candelaria, D-New Haven, both of whom proposed cannabis-related legislation and were instrumental in crafting the state’s cannabis market, were aware that such a decision had been made.
“It's not something that they've shared or expressed with me,” Rojas said of DCP. “I haven't heard that yet.”
The state has so far issued 35 retail licenses for recreational cannabis, according to state data. There are also medical cannabis dispensary licenses and hybrid licenses, allowing the sale of both medical and recreational cannabis.
There are currently 13 active recreational cannabis dispensaries in Connecticut.
The state legislature is currently mulling several pieces of legislation that could alter how cannabis license lotteries are run, including lotteries for cannabis retail, cultivation, and food and beverage manufacturing.
Rojas said that while he was not aware DCP had decided to halt cannabis lotteries until at least the end of the legislative session in June, he said “I can understand why they might want to do that.”
“Legislation is going to change in the next month or two,” he said. “The last thing they’d want to do is go out with something that is then going to potentially impact the status of an applicant.”
Candelaria said a halt in the lottery process would “ensure that we’re not saturating the market with a bunch of cultivators and retailers.”
“I think it's wise just to move cautiously to see how the market and the demand is that we can run another lottery for the people to really take up and take advantage of applying for a license and hopefully getting the license through the lottery,” he said.
One bill being considered, proposed by Rojas, would limit the number of times a single applicant can enter the lottery. When the first cannabis lotteries were announced there was no such limit, and at least two companies, Slap Ash, Inc. and Jananii LLC, each spent more than $200,000 to submit more than 800 lottery entries.
That, Rojas said, should change.
“We want to come out with one application per applicant,” he said.
Candelaria said that the current setup could mean that the wealthiest applicants could be more likely to get a license.
“You want to be sure that the process is transparent and fair and equitable for everyone,” he said. “Right now, it's not because someone that does not have the economic means cannot put in 20 applications. They won't be able to afford it.”
