[[{“value”:”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) said this week the Kentucky Medical Marijuana Program has received 4,998 applications for medical cannabis business licenses, WHAS11 reports. State officials are planning to hold a lottery in October to select the program’s licensees.
“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. 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.” — Beshear, in his weekly Team Kentucky Update release
Of the nearly 5,000 cannabis license applications the state has received, 4,076 are for dispensary licenses — however, the state will only award 48 such retail licenses, meaning less than 1% of the retail applicants will get a license. The remaining applications break down as such:
239 applications for a Tier I Cultivator license
190 applications for a Tier II Cultivator license
155 applications for a Tier III Cultivator license
333 applications for a Processor license
5 applications for a Safety Compliance Facility license
Based on the number of applications, Kentucky has earned nearly $28 million in medical cannabis license application fees, with just dispensary applications accounting for more than $20 million, the report said.
The business license application period for the program started July 1 and ended last weekend after a “big flood” of last-minute applications, according to the governor.
“We are just going to have some challenges getting through those total number of applications, doing it right, ensuring that the process is fair, getting through the lotteries and getting up and running,” Beshear said.
The Kentucky Medical Marijuana Program was established via an executive order signed by the governor in 2022.
Get daily cannabis business news updates. Subscribe
Have an additional perspective to share? Send us a message to let us know, and if your comment is chosen by our editors it could be featured here.
Perspective to add? Suggest a revision or submit commentary for review using the form below.
Note: our editors approve comments that provide new and succinct insight to our audience. If your comment is chosen for publishing, it will appear at the end of the article along with your name, job title, and organization. If you have a profile in the Ganjapreneur Business Index, your comment will also include a backlink for reference. If you are suggesting a correction, we will look into the issue further.
Based in Portland, Oregon, Graham is Ganjapreneur’s Chief Editor. He has been writing about the legalization landscape since 2012 and has been contributing to Ganjapreneur since our official launch in 2014.
Ganjapreneur is made possible by our partners:
“}]] [[{“value”:”Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) said this week the Kentucky Medical Marijuana Program has received 4,998 applications for medical cannabis business licenses, WHAS11 reports. State officials are planning to hold a lottery in October to select the program’s licensees.
“When we launched this program, o”}]] Read More