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FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Medical Cannabis Program received 4,998 applications for medical cannabis business licenses during the two-month application period in July and August, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Thursday. The state collected more than $27 million in application fees.
According to Beshear’s Team Kentucky update, the Office of Medical Cannabis received most of the applications in the last four days of the application period, and plans to hire more staff to handle the influx.
The office is still set to begin issuing licenses this year — 48 dispensary licenses will be available.
The state still plans to use a lottery system to award licenses to applications that clear the screening process. The processors and cultivators’ lottery will be held earlier than the lottery for dispensaries, according to the office.
“When we launched this program, our goal was to ensure that our licensing process was transparent and provided everyone a fair shot at being a part of this new, exciting industry,” Beshear said. “Today, the results are clear. The incredible interest in this process, especially among Kentuckians, is proof that this program has met that goal and is set up for success now and moving forward.”
A chart provided by Beshear’s office shows that Region 8, West Kentucky — which consists of Ballard, Carlisle, Hickman, Fulton, Graves, McCracken, Marshall, Calloway, Livingston, and Crittenden Counties — submitted 301 applications for licenses, which accounted for 7% of total applications submitted. Region 7, Pennyrile, which contains Lyon and Caldwell Counties, submitted 369 applications, which accounted for 9% of total applications submitted.
Only four dispensary licenses will be issued per region shown in the above chart, with no more than one dispensary allowed per county. The exceptions are Jefferson and Fayette Counties, which contain Louisville and Lexington — those counties will be allowed two dispensaries each.
An additional chart shows that the majority of applications submitted, 81.55%, were for dispensaries, which totaled 4,076 applications. The rest of the applications, 18.44%, were for cultivator, processor, or safety compliance facilities, for a total of 922 applications.
”}]] The Kentucky Medical Cannabis Program received 4,998 applications for medical cannabis business licenses during the two-month application period in July and August, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Thursday. The state collected Read More