The Arizona Department of Health Services recently awarded 26 social equity marijuana licenses by lottery.

According to Fox 10 Phoenix News, the licenses were awarded to individuals disproportionally affected by marijuana laws. More than 1,300 applications were submitted, and applicants had to have a previous marijuana conviction or be related to someone that had one to be eligible. Applicants also had to reside in certain specific Arizona ZIP codes, and pay a $4,000 application fee.

"They’re worth about $10 million to $20 million, the piece of paper alone," Demitri Downing of the Marijuana industry Trade Association told Fox 10 News. "Each of these dispensaries can do $500,000 to $1 million-plus a month so you can see the value is there. There's a natural correlation between those who were harmed by the drug war and this economic opportunity. I think it's wishful thinking that all the wrongs in the past can be righted, but it is a step in the right direction."

12 News reports that Proposition 207 passed in November 2020 and legalized adult use of marijuana in the state. In February a judge dismissed a lawsuit questioning the state's lottery method for awarding licenses. 

"It would create generational wealth for me and my family. It would give me more opportunities to create other business ventures,” said Arianna Munoz, one of many applicants, according to 12 News. “I’ve always wanted to be a brand owner and dispensary owner and it was the perfect time.”    

More than two-thirds of applicants had backing from cannabis companies that already had dispensary licenses or corporate sponsors, according to Phoenix New Times.

“But this will not deter us from continuing our fight to make sure that those who truly deserve social equity and justice receive the relief they so desperately need," Celeste Rodriguez, a critic of the program told Phoenix New Times. 

The new licensees have 18 months to open their adult-use dispensaries.