Kentucky's start-up medical cannabis program should be positioned to ramp up quickly, but having products available for some patients at the outset will be a challenge, Gov. Andy Beshear says. Beshear's administration took a big step forward Monday when a state-run lottery selected 26 applicants for cultivation and processor licenses.
Those growers and processors will be issued medical cannabis licenses after paying their license fee within 15 days. The state’s medical cannabis program begins Jan. 1.
Patients eligible for medical marijuana must have a qualifying medical condition and obtain written certification from an authorized medical practitioner. Qualifying illnesses include cancer, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, epilepsy, chronic nausea or post-traumatic stress disorder. “I want to tell those Kentuckians that have really needed this relief that help is on the way,” Beshear said during the drawing, held at the Kentucky Lottery Corp.
in Louisville. The date for a dispensary license lottery is expected to be revealed later this week. Several dozen dispensaries will be allowed to open, divided among regions.
Kentucky lawmakers earlier this year agreed to move up the timeline for cannabis business licensing by six months. Beshear, a leading supporter of legalizing medical cannabis, said his administration has worked as fast as it could to get the program set up. He predicted that Kentuckians will see a “big ramp up” in the multi-layered system by early next yea.
