LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Kentucky has held the first lottery for medical cannabis licenses.
On Tuesday, 16 cultivators and 10 processors will receive a license were selected to receive licenses.
Wednesday morning, Gary Hilliard, the co-owner of Limestone Processing, a medical cannabis processor that’s eligible to operate in the state, spoke to WKYT about what it felt like to be selected in a lottery system among more than 300 potential applicants.
Hilliard is getting ready to open up for business, but he knows there are other spokes in the medical cannabis wheel that need to turn before he can go full speed ahead and one of those spokes in the wheel no one is talking about is.
“Honestly, I couldn’t believe it. First thing was just to call up my partner and was just shocked so,” Hilliard said.
Hilliard’s company will use marijuana plant material from a licensed cultivator and process it into gummies, vape and tincture to be sold in a dispensary.
Hilliard put up $5,000 for an application fee, which was nonrefundable. He says he’s familiar with the cannabis extraction process because he has experience in the hemp industry, and he’s not worried about businesses coming into the bluegrass to set up shop from out of state.
“I wouldn’t say I’m worried about it. There’s a lot of good experience from out-of-state running programs similar to this or recreational programs,” Hilliard said.
KCA Labs currently runs tests on hemp products, but in the near future, the company will play a crucial part in Kentucky’s medical cannabis industry.
The Nicholasville company is currently one of three labs in the state that will perform a full panel of tests on cannabis products that include cultivated plants and processed material, looking for heavy metals, microtoxins, pesticides and other potentially dangerous chemicals.
“Could all be harmful to patients if they were to consume those, so the state mandates some regulatory limits for all those tests,” said Ryan Bellone with KCA labs.
The medical cannabis industry is new to Kentucky, and the Commonwealth wants to make sure all products are safe for use.
“The gummies that the patients are going to consume, for example, if it lists 10 mg of Delta-9 THC on the label, we test to make sure there’s 10 mg of Delta-9 THC in that product prior to going on to the shelves,” Bellone said.
The Governor’s Office says a separate license lottery for medical cannabis dispensaries will be announced at a later date.
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Kentucky has held the first lottery for medical cannabis licenses. Read More