Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has announced cultivation of the first legal medical cannabis plants in the state began late last week.
Two years ago, Governor Beshear signed Senate Bill 46 into law. This legalized medical marijuana for Kentuckians at the start of the year. Before that, Beshear’s executive order of 2022 allowed certain residents to have and use small quantities from January 2023.
Governor Beshear then signed into law House Bill 829 in April. Beshear, who signed House Bill 829 as law in Kentucky to advance the licensing timeline by six months. Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis begins accepting applications for businesses in July 2024. A first licence is granted to businesses in September 2024. In February of this year, the first Kentucky medical cannabis identification cards were given to patients.
Armory Kentucky LLC is the first to be approved as a Tier II grower. It’s located in Mayfield. Tier II cannabis growers operate in indoor spaces no bigger than 10,000 square foot.
Beshear, in a comment on this landmark, said:
“This administration is proud to be making progress in providing safe and affordable access to medicinal cannabis for Kentuckians who suffer from cancer, PTSD or multiple sclerosis.”
It is expected that more licensed companies, such as processors and labs for testing, will begin operations within the next weeks.
Kentucky, as of the date this article was written, had licensed 81 business and registered over 400 medical cannabis practitioners. More than 17,000 Kentuckians received a certification to use cannabis and over 11,000 patients successfully obtained an ID card within the past 5 months.
Governor announced the following in May of this year: new online directory For locating and finding out when medical cannabis dispensaries will be open.
Beshear has said that he expects to see some dispensaries open in 2019. He signed an executive directive last Thursday, waiving the $25 fee to renew cards for people who have obtained them this year. They will be applying again in 2026.
He said, “I’m sure it’s not much but I think it’s fair.” We have been trying to improve this system and make it the best one in the country. This is another way to ensure that we always put patients first. We are excited by its progress.