The move comes after a district court judge this week blocked a state lottery to choose which social equity applicants would be pre-licensed to start up cannabis businesses.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Ramsey County judge on Monday halted a planned lottery to award the first cannabis licenses on Tuesday, a setback for state regulators as they ramp up towards legal sales next year.

A Ramsey County, Minnesota, judge on Monday delayed the state’s Office of Cannabis Management’s social equity lottery — a day before it was scheduled to take place — after several people alleged they were unlawfully denied from participating in it.