This was the second round of selectees granted licenses to open dispensaries in Kentucky.
The state’s largest cities, Lexington and Louisville, will be able to operate two, and each surrounding county will be granted one.
If numbers drawn duplicated a county, the applicant could still open shop, but in another county.
“For any county that has duplicate awardees, the first one drawn will go to that county. So, we had three in Bullitt County. The second two will have to choose other counties in that region,” Gov. Andy Beshear explained.
Regarding the counties allowed two dispensaries, he offered an example: “Jefferson County will have two, and then there will be four in four different counties, surrounding Jefferson County.”
The same applies for Lexington and surrounding counties.
The lottery for dispensaries in the rest of the state was held earlier this month.
Beshear fielded questions about the number of licenses granted to out-of-state entities. The governor stood by Kentucky’s process, which he said was designed to “put patients’ needs first and avoid legal challenges seen in other states.”
The governor acknowledged criticisms from Kentucky companies that want to set up shop under the new law.
“There’s a lot of excitement about it, even though the market is going to be a lot smaller than people are thinking right now,” Beshear said. “Our goal had to be to learn from all the other states, from the successful challenges… and then try to implement the system that ultimately provides medical cannabis to those that qualify first, and do so safely.”
When pressed about internal emails and strategies discovered from out-of-state groups, such as Dark Horse Cannabis, Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis head Sam Flynn said the companies clarified that they have acquired “management services agreements and contracts,” which is legal.
“They have clarified that they do not own any of these licensees. So… just want to be very clear, they do not own any of these licenses,” Flynn said. “These are management agreements, just like any kind of professional service agreement that a business may have with a law firm, a consulting firm, or what have you.”
Beshear added the goal was to have set rules, provide complete transparency, and ensure the state wasn’t held up in litigation.
The governor’s executive order allowing Kentuckians with approved medical conditions to purchase medical marijuana in other states will remain in place for the foreseeable future.
Kentucky’s medical marijuana program is slated to begin January 1, 2025.
A dozen applications for dispensary licenses were drawn Monday. Like the previous rounds, the picks were done live at the Kentucky Lottery Headquarters in Louisville. Read More
