FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) – Governor Andy Beshear made several new announcements regarding medical cannabis in the state.
Governor Andy Beshear says providing access to healthcare and creating safe communities for Kentuckians has been a priority for his administration from the start.
“Over a year ago, I signed Senate Bill 47, which legalizes medical cannabis in the Commonwealth beginning January of 2025 that’s coming really soon,” Beshear said.
In April, Beshear signed House Bill 829, which allowed the state to start issuing business licenses this year.
“Knowing that patients need access to life-changing medications sooner rather than later, our administration, we wanted to make sure we were capable of issuing licenses this year,” Beshear said.
Governor Beshear says the state received more than 5,000 applications. Only 48 licenses will be given out.
Thursday, he issued the state’s first medical cannabis business license to KCA Labs in Nicholasville.
“KCA is poised to bring its industry-wide reputation, expertise, quality and impartiality, to give the program’s licensees reliable and dependable compliance data, while also confirming that the businesses are meeting the state’s important safety requirements for medical cannabis products,” said KCA Labs CEO Jonathan Thompson.
Beshear also announced the state’s lottery for cultivators and processors will be on October 28.
“Applicants for cultivator tiers one, two and three and applications for processors will be informed the week prior whether they are approved for the license lottery,” Governor Beshear said.
As for dispensary licenses, Beshear says they’re holding off on announcing the date for this lottery for now. However, he says they’re making great progress, and that the lottery will likely be in November.
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