In a Team Kentucky update on Thursday, Sept. 26, Governor Andy Beshear (D) announced the first recipient of a business license for the medical cannabis program in Kentucky.
Beshear announced that KCA Labs, a hemp-testing facility operating in Nicholasville, would be receiving the first license, and that it is not part of the lottery system that Kentucky will use to select other license recipients.
“Our mission is to ensure Kentuckians with serious medical conditions have access to safe and high quality tested medical cannabis products…” Beshear said during a Team Kentucky update. “I love that the first license is going to an entity that helps us do this safely.”
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The lottery system will award licenses to businesses that are looking to grow, process or sell medical marijuana for patients across Kentucky. Beshear announced that the lottery for cultivator and processor licenses will take place on Oct. 28, with dispensary license dates likely in November.
He described the lottery as a fair method to ensure all screened applicants have a chance to secure a license, with caps put into place to prevent market oversaturation.
Nearly 5,000 applications were submitted for medical cannabis business licenses. After years of setbacks, Kentucky legalized medical marijuana for patients with serious conditions, and Beshear’s follow-up legislation expedited the licensing process, allowing licenses to be issued in 2024.
This article appears in Sep 24 – Oct 8, 2024.
