LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Dozens of cannabis businesses were approved to distribute medical marijuana in Kentucky.
The Office of Medical Cannabis (OMC) held a random lottery Monday at the Kentucky Lottery’s headquarters in Louisville to distribute three dozen dispensary licenses for nine of the eleven licensing regions, excluding Jefferson and Fayette counties.
There are a total of 48 dispensary licenses available. More than 4,000 businesses submitted applications for the licenses.
Of those, 2,840 applications were filed for the nine regions in Monday’s drawing, however, 2,551 or 88% of those applications were approved to be in the lottery drawing.
“When you look at the total number of applications versus the ones that are selected, there’s going to be a number of disappointed folks, and I get that,” Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Kentucky, said.
Another lottery for the last two regions, which include Jefferson and Fayette counties, will be held on Dec. 16. There are more than 1,200 applications for those two regions alone.
Four applicants were chosen for each region. While some businesses were chosen to operate in the same county, only one dispensary can be open for business in each county.
OMC Executive Director Sam Flynn said the first applicant chosen can stay in that county. Any other applicant approved for that same county will need to relocate to another county in the region that allows medical marijuana businesses to operate.
“We will ensure that there’s that geographic spread and access points again throughout that region,” he explained. “At the end of the day, we wanna make sure that people have access and not driving multiple hours to get their medical cannabis.”
Flynn pointed out that if the data shows there is more demand in the future, then more dispensaries could be added.
“If there’s new qualifying conditions, more patients, then we can look at that,” he said.
Businesses selected in Monday’s drawing have 15 days to pay their licensing fee. If they don’t pay the fee, Flynn said the business could forfeit their license.
In October, a similar lottery was held for medical cannabis cultivator and processor licenses.
Twenty-six businesses were selected, and all have been licensed, Gov. Andy Beshear said.
“All of the medical cannabis that’s going to be in Kentucky and dispensed in these Kentucky dispensaries has to be grown, processed and tested here in Kentucky,” Flynn said. “You can’t sell any plant ‘til you actually grow it first.”
Qualified patients can apply for a medical cannabis card on or after Jan. 1, 2025.
To be eligible, patients will need to receive a written certification from an authorized doctor or nurse practitioner.
An online directory to help patients find providers launches Dec. 1.
These cannabis businesses won a dispensary license on Nov. 25:
NOTE: An asterisk indicates that company was selected first to operate in a county if multiple businesses were selected for the same county in a region.
Region 3 – Northeast
Region 4 – South Central
Region 5 – Cumberland
Region 6 – Mountain
Region 7 – Pennyrile
Region 8 – West Kentucky
Region 9 – Lincoln Trail
Region 10 – Northern Kentucky
Region 11 – Green River
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