Gov. Andy Beshear signs HB 829, allowing businesses to begin Medical Cannabis Business Licensing

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) -Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that the Kentucky Medical Cannabis Program is moving forward.

“This administration has been working hard to expedite the timeline for making medical cannabis available,” Gov. Beshear said in a press release. “We worked with the General Assembly on a solution and by signing House Bill 829, I am pleased to report that my administration will now be able to issue licenses to medical cannabis businesses in 2024 instead of 2025.”

Yesterday, the Governor signed House Bill 829 into law, which among other things, the bill takes the important step of moving up the timeline for cannabis business licensing from Jan. 1, 2025, to July 2024.

To meet that expedited timeline, today, the Kentucky Medical Cannabis Program filed new regulations, which provide guidelines for how businesses can apply to become licensed medical cannabis businesses in the Commonwealth. The new regulations will create a licensing structure for cannabis businesses; an application process, a review process and timeline; and application and licensing fees.

People can now read these regulations and find out how to participate in the regulatory process by visiting kymedcan.ky.gov.

Under the new regulations, businesses can begin applying for a cannabis business license beginning July 1 through Aug. 31. Applicants will be required to pay an application fee and submit appropriate documentation, which includes business history, operation plans, ownership information, financial information, business location, and site plans.

“We are excited that the program will be able to issue licenses in 2024 rather than 2025. From its inception, the program has been focused on ensuring patients with serious medical conditions like cancer, PTSD, multiple sclerosis, and other symptoms and conditions have safe access to medical cannabis,” said Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Eric Friedlander in a press release.

“The program is also focused on ensuring cannabis business licensing is fair and transparent,” said Sam Flynn, executive director of the Kentucky Medical Cannabis Program in a press release. “To do so, the program has partnered with the Kentucky Lottery Corporation, to issue medical cannabis business licenses using a lottery system. Other states have also adopted this approach.  Kentucky’s first license lottery will be held this October.”

Flynn continued, “It is also critical that our cannabis business licensing framework ensures the new industry is both stable and sustainable – with an emphasis on small business – and provides product growth to meet cardholder demand.”

As a result, the initial license availability for each business category includes 10 tier I cultivator licenses, four tier II cultivator licenses, and two-tier III cultivator licenses. There will not be tier IV cultivator or producer licenses offered during the initial license availability but they may become available during subsequent licensure periods.

For processors, there will be ten licenses available across the state, and for dispensaries, there will be 48 available licenses.

Dispensary licenses will be issued in 11 regions across the state to ensure Kentuckians with qualifying conditions, like cancer and PTSD, have the shortest possible drive time to a medical cannabis dispensary.

Each region will initially have at least four dispensary licenses available per region. However, no more than one dispensary can be located in each county except for the state’s two largest counties, Jefferson and Fayette, which are allocated two dispensary licenses each.

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