Over 1,500 applications filed for social equity marijuana licenses

Over 1,500 applications have been filed for the 26 social equity dispensary licenses that Arizona’s public health agency plans to issue under the state’s voter-approved law legalizing recreational marijuana.

The Department of Health Services is reviewing the applications and said a random selection process to award the social equity licenses will be conducted next spring.

However, a department spokesman said it’s too soon to say when the review process will be completed and license winners selected.

The licenses will be issued under the 2020 ballot measure’s provision to set aside 26 licenses for “people from communities disproportionately impacted by the enforcement of previous marijuana laws.”