If Kentucky authorities expected their limited medical cannabis market to attract a new green rush of business interest, they appear to have miscalculated.
As of last Wednesday, the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services had received just 13 permit applications for medical marijuana businesses hoping to open in the state, WHAS 11 reported, despite the availability of 48 permits. Of the 13, seven applied for dispensary permits, four for cultivation licenses, and two for processor permits.
The application window is only open from July 1 to Aug. 31, and the agency received eight applications on the first day. However Gov. Andy Beshear acknowledged in a press conference last week that demand for licenses has been slow to start.
“The applications are coming in, but we think a lot of people are waiting, right now, until closer to the deadline,” Beshear said, according to LEX 18. “We would strongly encourage people to submit earlier.”
“A lot of the applications that have come in already have been found deficient,” Beshear added.
Sales were expected to begin in January, though the governor suggested the state may face an initial cannabis product shortage. But if business participation doesn’t increase and production doesn’t get underway quickly, there may not be much of an industry to launch.
Patients can begin registering for ID cards in January, and business permits are expected to be awarded this October via lottery.
Kentucky cannabis cultivation application fees can range from $3,000 to $30,000 depending on the size of the facility. On top of that, applicants must submit evidence of “sufficient capital.” That ranges from $50,000 for a Tier I cultivator (indoor grow area of no more than 2,500 square feet) to $1 million for a Tier IV cultivator (indoor grow area up to 50,000 square feet), though the state noted that Tier IV cultivator licenses will not be issued in the initial round.
The fee for processor and dispensary license applications is $5,000, with a sufficient capital requirement of $150,000. Producer licenses will not be available in the first application window.
The state medical cannabis program has 15 days to acknowledge it’s received each application, and then another 45 days to rule on its approval or denial.
As of July 10, only 13 companies have applied for 48 available licenses. Read More