Connecticut Progresses With Review Of Select Social Equity Applications

Select social equity applicants for retailer, micro-cultivator and Equity Joint Venture licenses in Connecticut are moving forward in the license application review process.

The retailer and micro-cultivator license applicants were chosen through a Social Equity Lottery, have been approved by a Social Equity Council and have met general assembly requirements to qualify as social equity applicants, according to Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection (DCP).

The Social Equity Council has approved the following applicants, and the DCP has notified them to complete their next steps to receive licenses:

© DCP

Next steps include submitting background checks and provisional license applications, which DCP states could take several weeks to review. Pending successful review, applicants will then pay fees and move on to further application steps.

Social equity applicants who were not selected in the Social Equity Lottery will now go to a general lottery that will be conducted by the UConn School of Pharmacy.

Equity Joint Venture (EJV) applicants do not go through lotteries, and any applicants who have been denied by the Social Equity Council can reapply, per the DCP.

EJVs are businesses that are at least 50%-owned and -controlled by a person or group who “had an average household income of less than 300 percent of, or three times, the state median household income over the last 3 tax years,” and either “was a resident of a disproportionately impacted area [DIA] for at least 5 of the past 10 years” or “was the resident of a [DIA] for at least 9 years before the age of 18,” according to state officials.

Micro-cultivators cultivate under 2,000 to 10,000 square feet of canopy and will be able to expand further upon licensure. (Visit this page for information about assistance for micro-cultivators through the Social Equity Council.)

Connecticut has different social equity requirements depending on license type. For instance, Social Equity Partners are businesses that are at least 65%-owned and -controlled by a person or group that meets the same income and DIA requirements as EJVs.

In Related News

The DCP has also released a dataset outlining which cities and towns in the state will allow adult-use cannabis business operations, NBC Connecticut reports.

Each community decided whether to approve cannabis businesses, prohibit them, or place a moratorium and make a final decision later, according to the news outlet.

View the list of cities and towns here.