Connecticut’s adult-use cannabis license lotteries kick off in in a few days – here’s what you need to know.
Under Connecticut’s Responsible and Equitable Regulation of Adult-Use Cannabis Act (“RERACA”) and the policies and procedures implementing RERACA, there are nine different types of new cannabis licenses that will be issued by the Department of Consumer Protection (the “DCP”), as summarized below. Lotteries for the first license applications start Thursday, and half of all adult-use cannabis licenses awarded under Connecticut’s program will go to Social Equity Applicants.
License Types and Lottery Dates
For each license type, the DCP will be hold two lotteries, one for social equity applicants and one general lottery. For the State’s initial application period, the DCP will hold lotteries and issue licenses as, as follows:
- Cultivator – Disproportionately Impacted Areas: February 3, 2022
- No lottery; instead, application window open from February 3, 2022 to May 4, 2022 for Social Equity Cultivators located in a Disproportionately Impacted Areas.
- Grows at least 15,000 square feet.
- Retailer: February 3, 2022.
- 6 social equity licenses and 6 general licenses.
- Sells adult-use only.
- Micro-Cultivator: February 10, 2022
- 2 social equity licenses and 2 general licenses.
- Initially grows between 2,000 and 10,000 square feet.
- Delivery Service: February 17, 2022
- 5 social equity licenses and 5 general licenses.
- Delivers from cannabis establishments to consumers.
- Hybrid Retailer: February 24, 2022
- 2 social equity licenses and 2 general licenses.
- Sells adult-use and patients and caregivers for medical use.
- Food and Beverage: March 3, 2022
- 5 social equity licenses and 5 general licenses.
- Incorporates cannabis into food or beverage intended for human consumption.
- Product Manufacturer: March 10, 2022
- 3 social equity licenses and 3 general licenses.
- Performs cannabis extraction, chemical synthesis, and permitted manufacturing activities.
- Product Packager: March 17, 2022
- 3 social equity licenses and 3 general licenses.
- Labels and packages cannabis.
- Transporter: March 24, 2022
- 2 social equity licenses and 2 general licenses.
- Delivers cannabis between cannabis establishments.
Nonrefundable fees to submit for the lotteries range from $125 – $1,000. Winning entrants from the lotteries will have 60 days to complete an application.
A Social Equity Applicant is one who is 65% owned and controlled by one or more persons who: (1) has an average household income of less than three times the State median household income over the last three tax years; and (2) either (a) was a resident of a Disproportionately Impacted Area for at least 5 of the last 10 years or (b) was a resident of a Disproportionately Impacted Area for at least 9 years before the age of 18.
Disproportionately Impacted Areas are census tracts in the State that have either a historical conviction rate for drug-related offenses greater than 10% or an unemployment rate greater than 10%, and a list of the Disproportionately Impacted Areas is available here.
