(LEX 18) — Kentucky took a big step toward making medical marijuana a reality in the Commonwealth. On Monday, 26 businesses were selected to grow and process the medical marijuana that will soon be for sale in Kentucky.
The businesses were awarded their medical marijuana cultivation and processor licenses through a lottery held at the Kentucky Lottery in Louisville.
“All medical cannabis that is cultivated, processed, tested and dispensed will be done so right here in Kentucky,” said Gov. Andy Beshear. “Today’s lottery helps ensure those medical cannabis businesses can become operational so that Kentuckians with serious medical conditions can have safe, affordable access to the health care relief and choice they deserve at the soonest possible date.”
Beshear's message to those waiting to access medical marijuana in Kentucky is: "help is on the way."
"There is a new day coming in Kentucky," he said. "On January first or as soon after it - as all of the dispensaries and other parts of the business get up and running - you're going to be able to get safe medical cannabis to help you with your condition."
According to Sam Flynn, the executive director of the Office of Medical Cannabis, 4,998 applications for medical marijuana business licenses were received in Kentucky. 918 were cultivator and processor applicants and about 84% of them were approved to be in Monday's lottery.
“The lottery system is an approach that was adopted after reviewing best practices from other states that have an established medical cannabis market,” said Flynn. “Since day one, our primary goal was to make the application and selection process as fair and transparent as possible."
A separate license lottery for dispensaries will be announced on Thursday, according to Beshear.
To qualify for a medical cannabis card starting Jan. 1, 2025, the holder must have a qualifying medical condition, which includes any type or form of cancer regardless of stage; chronic, severe, intractable or debilitating pain; epilepsy or any other intractable seizure disorder; multiple sclerosis, muscle spasms or spasticity; chronic nausea or cyclical vomiting syndrome that has proven resistant to other conventional medical treatments; and post-traumatic stress disorder.
