Kentucky Issues First Medical Cannabis License

After receiving nearly 5,000 applications, Kentucky has issued its first medical cannabis business license.

Kentucky’s Medical Cannabis Program is still working through the 4,998 applications it received, which was more than what was anticipated, but issued its first license to KCA Labs in Nicholasville.

The state will issue 48 dispensary licenses across the state to businesses wanting to sell, process or grow medical marijuana for patients using a lottery system.

But there is no limit on the number of initial licenses being awarded to safety compliance facilities, the category that KCA Labs comes under, meaning there is no need for a lottery.

These facilities will test every medical cannabis product before reaching eligible patients, guaranteeing the products are held to the highest medical standards, according to Governor Andy Beshear.

The governor said lottery to award licenses to cultivators and processors will be on October 28. The lottery for dispensary licenses will be announced later but will likely be in November. Those businesses can start selling medical marijuana in Kentucky starting in January.

Four license types will be available:

Cultivator: responsible for planting, raising, harvesting, trimming and curing raw plant material
Processor: responsible for processing and packaging raw plant material into usable product formats
Safety compliance facility: responsible for contamination and purity testing of raw plant material and products
Dispensary: responsible for purchasing and selling finished products to cardholders

State law restricts dispensaries from operating within 1,000 feet of schools or daycares.

Applications for medical marijuana cards will open January 1, 2025.

In order to be eligible, people must have a qualifying medical diagnosis:
​Any type or form of cancer;
Chronic or severe pain;
Epilepsy or other intractable seizure disorder;
Multiple sclerosis, muscle spasms, or spasticity;
Chronic nausea or cyclical vomiting syndrome; or
Post-traumatic stress disorder

Kentucky residents also must have no disqualifying felony offenses.
Source: WDRB