Lottery minus 10 days = Rise and Grind with me tomorrow

OCM Read a LOT of License Applications

If you are one of the preliminarily approved licensees who got good news via email from the Office of Cannabis Management on Friday: Congratulations!

It made my holiday weekend to hear from so many clients and friends eager to get started. Then I looked and realized that OCM had moved a huge number of applications forward last week! Comparing to their chart dated May 15 (available in my earlier newsletter), we can see their progress in just one week:

• Approved another 42 micros to move to Step 3 (all social equity applicants)

• Approved a whopping 654 micros to move to Step 2 (background check), which completed the review of social equity applicants and got deep into the non-SEA micro pile. Good job by OCM on this!

• OCM also made good progress on reviewing the licenses in the capped categories in advance of the June 5 lottery. They are getting ready.

• OCM continues to deny some applications and ask for Additional Information for others. Folks waiting for the lottery, your odds are somewhat better than I previously calculated. (Want me to re-run those numbers for Thursday’s newsletter? Let me know.) And, if you got an invitation to supply Additional Information, act fast.

Some resources for preliminarily approved licensees:

• Tomorrow morning, I’ll be at the Rise and Grind meetup, talking with folks about licensing and next steps. Would love to see you there.

• The recording of my webinar about Next Steps in Licensing is still available here, on demand

• On Thursday I plan to finally unveil my new offerings to help small cannabis entrepreneurs! Stay tuned…

Register for “Cannabis: Fact, Fiction, and the Future” - Tuesday, June 3 at 6-7:30 pm

As the state prepares to roll out the first cannabis business licenses, State-Tribal Compacts, and Labor Peace Agreements, there are many burning questions and too much misinformation.

Get the facts on June 3, 2025, from inside experts. Presented by Teamsters Local 120, North Star Consulting, AIM Law, & Oaksterdam University.

• What’s legal and what’s not? 

• How are state licensees impacted by Tribal cannabis compacts and businesses? 

• Are there opportunities for state and Tribal businesses to work together? 

• Do all businesses need to sign labor peace agreements, and what does that entail? 

This is not just a webinar; this is an interactive meeting with limited space!

Register here for Tuesday, June 3, 6:00–7:30 pm CDT and save your spot.

Join the experts at Teamsters Local 120 and Oaksterdam University—the birthplace of the international movement to legalize cannabis. Our expert panel has decades of experience navigating the cannabis industry, state and Tribal law, and labor relations, and includes: 

• Jen Reise, North Star Consulting

• Keith Justin Anderson, AIM Law

• Paul Slattery and Ladell Roberts, Teamsters Local 120 

• Moderated by Dale Sky Jones, Oaksterdam University

Introducing Mochi!

Here he is enjoying some Memorial Day backyard time.