Kentucky’s first medical marijuana production facility harvested cannabis this month. Patients could have access by next week, according to a leading regulator. As the new program is launched, Governor Bevin says that the licensed businesses will “grow much more”.
Cannon Armstrong (Executive Director of Medical Cannabis, OMC) said one of state’s cultivations “produced their harvest. It’s up the the grower and licensee to decide where and when that is done.”
“I suspect that if we’re going to try and say timeframes—that it’ll definitely be before the end of the year, we’re hopeful that it may be November,” he told WAVE 3.
That pushes back the timeline slightly after Armstrong previously estimated a few weeks ago that sales could begin this month—but Gov. Andy Beshear said the medical marijuana market is only the beginning.
Governor said, “Since I took office, my Administration has committed itself to providing safe communities and access to health services for Kentuckians.” One of our top priorities is to make sure that Kentuckians with serious health issues such as cancer, PTSD and multiple sclerosis have access to safe medical marijuana as quickly as possible.
The Kentucky governor also said that although there are licensed cannabis growers who have been growing plants for the market, a “whole lot more” is about to be grown. He added that OMC has approved “another cultivation company to start activities in Kentucky and this one will be a major one”.
Beshear talked about Natural State GreenGrass CannaCo. It is “one the two biggest cultivation facilities in Kentucky.”
The space will eventually grow to 25,000 square foot, he added. This operator, and many others like him will ensure that Kentuckians with serious health conditions get the treatment they need for years to come.
Last month, Beshear said he thought medical marijuana would be available to Kentucky patients by the end of 2025.
At the time, he told a media briefing that “the medical marijuana program was moving forward.”
Most of our dispensaries are now listed with their address [and] The location of the event is not fixed. [for] He said that in order to pass some inspections, dispensaries must have the product on hand. I believe that they will be open before the end the year.
Those comments came roughly a month after the governor announced that the state’s first medical cannabis dispensary has officially been approved for operations, calling it “another step forward as we work to ensure Kentuckians with serious medical conditions have access to the medicine they need and deserve.
He previously touted an earlier “milestone” in the state’s forthcoming medical marijuana program, with a licensed cultivator producing “the first medical cannabis inventory in Kentucky history.”
Beshear’s office said other cannabis licensees including processors, testing laboratories, and others are expected to be operational shortly.
In July, Beshear sent a letter to President Donald Trump, urging him to reject congressional spending bill provisions that would prevent the Justice Department from rescheduling marijuana.
He said that you “supported” the proposal in the Controlled Substances Act to shift cannabis from Schedule I into Schedule III.
The process of rescheduling should continue. Americans deserve leaders who will not change their goalposts in the middle. Beshear added that Beshear had been one of tens and thousands to have submitted comments on the reform initiated by the Biden Administration, “demonstrating a broad public interest” in rescheduling.
“I am here to help,” I said. “Rescheduling will provide the suffering patients with the relief they require,” said the Governor. “It would ensure communities are safer—because legal medical products reduce the illicit market. The new research would be a valuable contribution to the health of communities.
Beshear, who also spoke about a letter he wrote to the DEA last summer urging rescheduling because “the jury has no longer been out for marijuana,” said that he had signed it. “It has medical benefits.”
On the state-level, Governor Tom Wolf recently admitted that the “industry has been slower to develop than we’d have liked,” since 2023 when he passed the Medical Marijuana Legalization Act.
In recognition of that delayed implementation, he recently signed an executive order to waive renewal fees for patients who get their cards this year so that they don’t get charged again before retailers open. The order protecting patients who get medical marijuana out of Kentucky, which he also signed “will remain in effect.”
Beshear separately announced in May that the state has launched a new online directory that lets people see where medical cannabis dispensaries will be opening near them.
The governor said that the state was working hard to provide access “as soon as possible” to the patients, and this included expediting licensing. The governor in January also ceremonially awarded the commonwealth’s first medical marijuana cards.
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Meanwhile, the governor sent a letter to Kentucky’s congressional delegation in January, “urging them to take decisive action to protect the constitutional rights of our law abiding medical cannabis patients” by repealing the federal ban on gun possession by people who use marijuana.
That came after bipartisan Kentucky senators filed legislation that similarly called on the state’s federal representatives to take corrective action, which Beshear said he supports but would like to see even more sweeping change on the federal level.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) warned Kentucky residents late last year that, if they choose to participate in the state’s medical marijuana program, they will be prohibited from buying or possessing firearms under federal law.
As far as the implementation of the state’s medical cannabis law goes, Beshear said in his State of the Commonwealth address in January that patients will have access to cannabis sometime “this year.” He also later shared tips for patients to find a doctor and get registered to participate in the cannabis program.
Health practitioners have been able to start assessing patients for recommendations since the beginning of December.
While there currently aren’t any up-and-running dispensaries available to patients, Beshear has further affirmed that an executive order he signed in 2023 will stay in effect in the interim, protecting patients who possess medical cannabis purchased at out-of-state licensed retailers.
During last year’s November election, Kentucky also saw more than 100 cities and counties approve local ordinances to allow medical cannabis businesses in their jurisdictions. The governor said the election results demonstrate that “the jury is no longer out” on the issue that is clearly supported by voters across partisan and geographical lines.
California State Fair Photo.
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