A drawing in the Ohio medical marijuana dispensary license lottery will be held this coming Thursday, January 27, 2022. There are over 1400 qualified applications based on both merit and chance. A total of 73 may be awarded these coveted Ohio licenses in this dispensary license lottery.
How is it decided to award so few from so many? Does using a Random Number Generator (RNG) make it seem fair?
Do you feel your medical marijuana company deserves to be awarded a license with or without Lady Luck? Quantum 9 marijuana consultants are here to make it happen. Contact us!
The Ohio medical marijuana dispensary license play
Lotteries are generally preferred by state cannabis control commissions for making the license award process appear more impartial. No one can be blamed then for favoritism, inside contacts or perceived political collusion. Or even lawsuits filed by the losing applicants.
Quantum 9 CEO Michael Mayes spoke last week with ABC News5 Cleveland about the upcoming Ohio medical marijuana dispensary license lottery.
“Obviously if you can submit more applications, your odds increase but all those carrying costs can cripple a company if you haven’t planned for that effectively.” Mayes added, “The larger the wallet, the more licenses you can submit for, so the probability does get skewed in that sense.”
It’s paying to put more fishing lines in the lake to get that big one. Don’t do it if your cannabis business can’t afford to pay multiple application fees. Contact Quantum 9 marijuana consultants to strategize the scenario that is best for your cannabis company. We can help you!
The lottery method tilts the advantages to the bigger, more wealthy and established operators. They are the ones who can more afford to up their odds of winning. Submitting multiple applications, they risk paying fees for applications that may not be awarded. But, the potential payoff is worth it!
Are lotteries for medical marijuana dispensary licenses fair?
It depends on what you consider to be the meaning of “fair.” Fairness is sometimes about, well, strategy. Even the game of chance called Yahtzee requires an amount of strategy in choosing where to count the points of your dice rolls.
Does the more you play the more you win decide anything about what the winners do after they win a medical marijuana dispensary license? Lotteries do not provide accountability for the immediate business choices of the winners. Will they follow through on their awarded license’s business plans and begin operations? Or will they sell the license they won to the highest bidder, leaving the patient community again without immediate access?
Using the power of discretion allows the control boards to discern which candidates stand out above others. Awarding licenses tied to accountability should be part of the next step in building equitable licensing processes.
In the meantime, we should look more towards what is the playing field. How do you strategically enter it and win what can be an amazing and rewarding business opportunity for both you and your community?
The strategic role of choosing real estate to win medical marijuana licenses in states using lottery systems
No matter the size of your company, strategize your dispensary applications. Why not do so when the license itself brings such a large reward? Not only monetarily, but by serving your chosen patient community with the medical marijuana options and services that you have spent so much time:
- envisioning
- crafting
- building, and
- creating strong community and business networks
Looking back over history, the winners are not based on merit alone. Strategize your geographical moves. Position yourself with the right piece of property. It’s not just the number of applications submitted, but in which licensing district you submit them.
“In Ohio, unlike other markets, real estate was really limited,” said Mayes. “So much so that they made it a law that applicants can submit on a parcel that other applicants are submitting on as well.”
Mayes also noted that awarded dispensary licenses become more profitable when states pass adult use/recreational marijuana laws. Either the original owner continues to operate or they sell to a larger cannabis company after a predetermined amount of time.
Research the number of dispensary caps and the limits within different districts. That is one way to help identify a piece of real estate. Some districts have fewer allotted licenses than others. “The goal would be to, number one, identify the property, secure it and then get a notarized statement from the landlord that it will be used for cannabis,” Mayes advised. Although all districts are competitive, some districts may provide a better luck of the draw. We can help you fulfill the mission of your cannabis business with real estate licensing strategies.
The reward for medical marijuana businesses, their communities, and medical marijuana patients
Everyone has the same chance to craft the best applications and business plans to distinguish themselves from other candidates. The lottery system appears to factor that out of the decision-making process by allowing the commission to not have to choose or show favoritism.
Perhaps Applicant X’s niche shop in district X caters to its patient population in a way which is worthy, fitting and appropriate for its community. Applicant Y with 7 applications submitted in that same district. The lottery system, after narrowing the field to the most qualified candidates, results in Applicant Y winning the one license. Due to the luck of the draw.
We can help you. Quantum 9 marijuana consultants have guided multiple companies to win licenses through all the different methods of license awarding across the country.
Contact our expert cannabis consultants at Quantum 9 to discuss your marijuana business planning and licensing strategies. Experienced marijuana consultants make it simpler for you to win a dispensary license in any state. Position yourself to be best in the running for a cannabis dispensary license.
