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On Monday, Kentucky’s Office of Medical Cannabis held a second licensed lottery, this time for medical cannabis dispensaries.
Thirty-six licenses to operate medical cannabis dispensaries were awarded from a pool of more than 2,500 applicants.
Kentucky’s 120 counties have been broken up into 11 regions across the state. Four licenses were awarded Monday in regions three through eleven.
Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., says he and his administration are committed to providing access to health care and creating safer communities for all Kentuckians.
“It’s been a priority to ensure those among us who have serious medical conditions, like cancer or PTSD have access to safe, affordable medical cannabis,” said Beshear.
Beshear signed an executive order protecting Kentuckians with those medical conditions from fear of prosecution two years ago and last year he signed Senate Bill 47 into law, which legalizes medical cannabis in the commonwealth beginning Jan. 1, 2025.
The Office of Medical Cannabis Executive Director, Sam Flynn, says this is all to build Kentucky’s medical cannabis program here in the state. They have already licensed 26 processors and cultivators, along with four labs.
“Our program is rooted in patient access. It is critical that our cannabis business licensing framework ensures the new industry is stable and sustainable, with an emphasis on small business, and provides product growth to meet cardholder demand,” said Flynn.
Both Flynn and Beshear say they are dedicated to doing this safely and in a smart way.
“What we saw with hemp, with all the licenses that went out, is it crashed the market — having too many individuals, that were out there licensed in the very beginning. So we think that we’ve got it, generally, right … We could potentially need more dispensaries is if more conditions are added, to where you can secure medical cannabis. There are still a number of conditions that are in other state’s programs that are not currently recognized in Kentucky,” said Beshear.
The next and final drawing license lottery for dispensaries in Fayette and Jefferson counties will take place Monday, Dec. 16.
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