FRANKFORT, Ky. (WCHS) — In January medical marijuana becomes legal in Kentucky, and officials told Eyewitness News interest in the program has exceeded expectations.
Last spring Gov. Andy Beshear signed legislation moving up the timeline for medical cannabis business licensing by six months.
“As a result, the program can begin issuing business licenses in 2024 this year instead of 2025 the year the program was supposed to start operations,” Beshear noted.
The state accepted applications to sell medical marijuana in July and August. During this time nearly 5,000 applications were received and 88% of those came in the final four days of the application period.
“We are increasing our staff, almost doubling them for reviewing applications,” Beshear said.
Ginny Saville owns a smoke shop and applied for a dispensary license in hopes of adding medical cannabis to her business.
“I’m blown away but not totally surprised. It is a really intense process,” Saville explained. “You have to write a very intense business plan that shows you have a full understanding of the requirements of the business.”
The next step is to pay an application fee.
“It’s $5,000 per application and I put two of them in,” Saville said, noting if she does not get a license, she is out $10,000.
Kentucky was divided into 11 regions with each region getting their own number of licenses which will be issued by a lottery. The lottery for processors and cultivators will be held earlier than the lottery for dispensaries.
For more information on medical cannabis business applications, click here.
In January medical marijuana becomes legal in Kentucky, and officials told Eyewitness News interest in the program has exceeded expectations.Last spring Gov. An Read More