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By Matt Sepic, Minnesota Public Radio News

Two prospective marijuana business owners who were barred from participating in a license lottery are suing Minnesota cannabis regulators.

The Office of Cannabis Management announced Friday that it will hold a drawing on Tuesday to determine who will operate the state’s first legal marijuana businesses.

The OCM turned to a lottery because more than 1,800 applicants had sought 282 licenses. The first to apply are those considered social equity applicants under the law. They include people who live in high poverty areas, those harmed by the war on drugs, and military veterans.

This week, regulators disqualified two-thirds of the applicants for a variety of reasons.

In a lawsuit, Jodi Connolly alleges that OCM gave no reason for denying her application. Connolly’s co-plaintiff Cristina Aranguiz said she received only a cursory explanation.

The two call the rejections “arbitrary and capricious,” and they want a judge to stop the lottery while their lawsuit is pending.

A judge set a restraining order hearing for Monday at 9 a.m.

In an email to MPR News on Friday, a spokesperson for the Office of Cannabis Management said he cannot comment on the litigation, but OCM still plans to move ahead with the scheduled lottery.