Consumer Protection Announces Adult-Use Cannabis Lottery Has Been Completed

Applications Have Been Selected in all Social Equity and General Lottery Categories

(HARTFORD, CT) — The Department of Consumer Protection has opened the process for selected applicants to proceed with the next steps in the license application review process for all remaining licenses selected through the lottery.

All license types available through the lottery process have been selected. Information about the next lottery will be announced by the Department of Consumer Protection next year.

The approved applicants and their backers have been asked to submit additional information for the required background check and provisional license application, which will be reviewed by DCP. The background check is conducted by a third-party processing company and DCP’s review of the applications is expected to take several weeks. Once the review is complete, qualifying applicants are required to pay the appropriate fees and move forward with the next phase of licensure, including establishing their business for operation.

Social Equity Lottery

The Department was notified that two hybrid retailer applications were approved by the Social Equity Council for satisfactorily meeting the requirements approved by the General Assembly to qualify for social equity status. The applications represent the maximum number of Social Equity Licenses available for the hybrid retailer license type in the first lottery round. Additional licenses will be available in future lotteries.

The following applicants have been approved by the Social Equity Council and notified by the Department of Consumer Protection to complete the next steps for licensure: 

Remaining social equity applications not selected in the Social Equity Lottery were added to the General Lottery. The General Lottery was conducted by the UConn School of Pharmacy in a manner similar to the Social Equity Lottery following the DCP review of selected Social Equity applications.

General Lottery

DCP has also notified applicants for Product Manufacturer, Hybrid Retailer, Delivery Service and Food and Beverage Manufacturer licenses that they were selected in a general lottery. The applicants in all four categories have been informed they can proceed with the next steps in the licensure process.

The general lottery included all applicants who applied directly to the general lottery, as well as all applicants who were not selected in the Social Equity Lottery for those license types. The selected applications represent the maximum number of licenses available for each license type in the first lottery round. Additional licenses will be available in future lotteries.

The following applicants have been notified by the Department of Consumer Protection to complete the next steps for licensure:

Cannabis was approved for adult-use in June 2021. Adult-use sales will begin Jan. 10, 2023 at licensed retailers. For information about Adult-Use Cannabis, visit ct.gov/cannabis.