Three cannabis retailers are one step closer to opening in Fresno. Here are the details

Three retailers have been granted preliminary acceptance for cannabis licenses in Fresno.

The retailers, which have not yet been named, will be notified on Friday, Fresno City Manager Thomas Esqueda said during Thursday’s city council meeting. At this point, the licenses are tentative because the businesses still have to do background checks and go through some processes that Esqueda described as “routine.”

But the news puts Fresno one step closer to having a legal weed shop open and running.

The city of Fresno did not respond to requests on Friday to name the businesses, but had said the licenses were selected through the city’s social equity process, which set aside up to six of the city’s total licenses for businesses whose owners have previous cannabis convictions, are former foster youth and veterans or coming from low-income communities.

That process started before the general applications, 35 of which have been selected as finalists and are in the interview process with the city. Those applicants, which include some locally known names and some national cannabis brands like Cookies and Stiiizy, will now be competing for one of the remaining 18 available licenses across Fresno’s seven voting districts.

According to the city’s schedule, that process should be completed by the end of August.

That same schedule says social equity applicants could be open by mid-November.

This story was originally published July 29, 2021 at 12:31 PM.