What’s happening in kentucky cannabis right now?
Kentucky’s medical cannabis industry is rapidly evolving. On October 28, 2024, the state held its inaugural license lottery, awarding 26 licenses to cultivators and processors.
This was followed by the dispensary license lottery on November 25, 2024, which allocated 36 licenses across Regions 3 through 11. The remaining 12 dispensary licenses for Regions 1 and 2 are set to be awarded during Kentucky’s December 16th lottery.
These developments mark significant milestones, offering new opportunities for businesses and enhancing patient access to medical cannabis. However, securing a license is just the beginning. The post-licensure phase is critical, involving complex regulatory compliance, facility buildout, and operational readiness. Starting on January 1, 2025, the state will open the Patient and Caregiver Registry Portal, allowing qualifying patients to apply for their medical cannabis card.
kentucky medical cannabis license TYPES
Kentucky offers the following medical cannabis license types: Cultivation, Processors, Safety Compliance Facilities, and Dispensaries.
KENTUCKY CANNABIS CULTIVATOR LICENSE:
Successful cannabis cultivator license applicants are permitted to plant, raise, harvest, trim, and cure raw plant material. Think of this as the stage where you grow the cannabis plant. A cultivator license authorizes its holder to grow medical cannabis (also known as raw plant material) in an enclosed, locked facility and sell medical cannabis to a licensed medical cannabis processor, producer, or dispensary in Kentucky. Cultivators grow, harvest, and trim the cannabis plants used to make safe, accessible medical cannabis products in Kentucky.
Kentucky cannabis cultivation licenses allow for 4 different canopy tier sizes:
- Tier I: 2,500sqft or less
- Tier 2: 10,000sqft. or less
- Tier 3: 25,000sqft. or less
- Tier 4: 50,000sqft. or less (Tier IV cultivator licenses are not available in this licensing round)
Cannabis cultivators in Kentucky are prohibited from growing outside. Cultivation can only be performed indoors.
KENTUCKY CANNABIS PROCESSOR LICENSE:
Cannabis Processor License holders are permitted to process and package the raw plant materials into usable product formats. In other words, if you have this license, you will be permitted to take the cultivated cannabis in Kentucky and create medical cannabis products for patients in Kentucky. Processors may modify medical cannabis through extraction and other processing methods to develop various products for the medical-use cannabis market (tinctures, oils, etc.).
Processors are permitted to produce the following products in Kentucky:
- Edibles
- Oils
- Topical forms
- Vaporization products
- Tinctures
- Dermal Patches
- Raw Plant Material
- Nebulization products
Four extraction methods are permitted:
- Hydrocarbon solvent-based
- Carbon dioxide-based
- Ethanol
- Non-solvent, mechanical
KENTUCKY SAFETY COMPLIANCE FACILITY LICENSE:
Safety Compliance license holders are permitted to test for contamination and purity testing of raw plant material and medical cannabis products. These license types are also known as “labs” or “third-party testing labs”. Safety Compliance Facilities are testing to ensure the products are safe for use by patients in Kentucky.
According to the Commonwealth, these facilities may also produce and sell approved educational materials related to the use of medical cannabis, produce, and sell equipment or materials including lab equipment and packaging materials, train cardholders and cannabis business employees on medical cannabis topics, and engage in other non-cannabis related business activities that are not otherwise prohibited or restricted by state law.
Samples from each harvest and production batch must be tested by safety compliance facilities to ensure the quality of medical cannabis in each stage of the process. Testing is performed to identify the following:
Psychoactive Compounds
- Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other cannabinoid concentrations
- Terpene types and concentrations
Production residuals
- Residual pesticides
- Processing chemicals
- Residual solvents
- Heavy metals
- Vitamin E acetate
Impurities and contaminants
- Microbial impurities
- Mycotoxins
- Water activity
- Yeast
- Mold
KENTUCKY DISPENSARY LICENSE:
Winning Kentucky Dispensary License holders are permitted to sell finished medical cannabis products to medical patient cardholders. A dispensary license authorizes its holder to sell medical cannabis products from its licensed premises to registered qualified patients, designated caregivers, and visiting qualified patients. Dispensaries can only sell medical cannabis products acquired from a licensed cannabis business that has passed all tests required by 915 KAR 1:110.
Dispensaries in Kentucky will be permitted to offer in-store purchases of products at the dispensary, delivery, drive-through windows, and curbside pickup! They will be required to put patient education first, providing dosage amounts, usage directions, and potential impairments caused by product usage.
KENTUCKY PRODUCER LICENSE:
There is a fifth license type in Kentucky called the “Producer”. This license type is permitted to essentially cultivate and process cannabis. They plant, raise, harvest, trim, and cure raw plant material (cultivate) and also process and package the raw plant material into usable product formats (process). However, the program will not be accepting license applications for Producers in this round.
WHAT ARE DISPENSARY LICENSING REGIONS IN KENTUCKY?
As provided in the above graphic map posted by Team Kentucky, Office of Medical Cannabis, there are 11 Medical Cannabis Dispensary Licensing Regions. These regions are specifically allocated for the purposes of dispensary licensing.
Region 1: Bluegrass: Anderson, Bourbon, Boyle Clark, Fayette, Franklin, Garrard, Harrison, Jessemine, Madison, Mercer, Scott, and Woodford.
Region 2: Kentuckiana: Bullitt, Henry, Jefferson, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer, and Trimble
Region 3: Northeast: Bath, Boyd, Carter, Elliott, Fleming, Greenup, Lewis, Mason, Menifee, Montgomery, Morgan, Nicholas, Robertson, and Rowan
Region 4: South Central: Allen, Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Logan, Metcalfe, Monroe, Simpson, and Warren
Region 5: Cumberland: Bell, Casey, Cumberland, Harlan, Knox, Laurel, Lincoln, McCreary, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Russell, Wayne, and Whitley
Region 6: Mountain: Breathitt, Clay, Estill, Floyd, Jackson, johnson, Knott, Lawrence, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, Owsley, Perry, Pike, Powell, and Wolfe
Region 7: Pennryrile: Caldwell, Christian, Hopkins, Lyon, Muhlenberg, Todd, and Trigg
Region 8: West Kentucky: Ballard, Calloway, Carlisle, Crittenden, Fulton, Graves, Hickman, Livingston, McCraken, and Marshall
Region 9: Lincoln Trail: Adair, Breckinridge, Grayson, Green, Hardin, Hart, Larue, Marion, Meade, Nelson, Taylor, and Washington
Region 10: Northern Kentucky: Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Carroll, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, Owen, and Pendleton
Region 11: Green River: Daviess, Hancock, Henderson, McLean, Ohio, Union, and Webster
Learn more in this 60 second video:
HOW MANY MEDICAL CANNABIS LICENSES WILL BE AWARDED IN KENTUCKY THIS ROUND?
- Cultivation License
- Tier 1 Cultivator: 10 licenses
- Tier 2 Cultivator: 4 licenses
- Tier 3 Cultivator: 2 licenses
- Tier 4 Cultivator: No licenses in this round
- Processor: 10 licenses
- Producer: No licenses in this round
- Dispensary: 48 licenses
- Safety Compliance Facility: No initial limit
Want to learn more?
This was a robust application and you had to nail it perfectly in order to get into this year‘s lottery. We go into more detail on the application and common mistakes that derail applications on our most recent Kentucky webinar:
Understanding the kentucky lottery process
If you’re confused about how the lottery system works in Kentucky’s medical cannabis program, you’re not alone. We wanted to share with you verbiage straight from the Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis website for you here:
Comprehensive Post-Licensure Support
At Canna Business Services, we specialize in guiding businesses through the post-licensure buildout process, ensuring a seamless transition from license acquisition to operational success. Our services include, but are not limited to:
- Regulatory Compliance: Navigating Kentucky’s medical cannabis regulations to maintain compliance and avoid potential pitfalls.
- Facility Design and Buildout: Developing efficient, compliant facilities tailored to your operational needs.
- Operational Strategy: Implementing best practices for cultivation, processing, and dispensing to optimize productivity and quality.
- Staff Training and Development: Equipping your team with the knowledge and skills necessary for compliant and effective operations.
- Market Positioning: Crafting strategies to establish a strong presence in Kentucky’s emerging medical cannabis market.
Partner with Us for Success
Whether you’re among the recent license recipients or planning to enter Kentucky’s medical cannabis industry, our expertise can help you navigate the complexities of the post-licensure phase. We are committed to building sustainable, compliant, and successful cannabis businesses that positively impact communities.
Contact us today to schedule a consultation and learn how we can support your journey in Kentucky’s medical cannabis industry. Together, we can cultivate success and contribute to the well-being of patients across the state
Canna Business Services is made up of a team of women who bring expertise from a variety of fields, including lawyers, state grant writers and auditors, former cannabis operators and compliance experts, procurers for the federal nuclear reactor program, educational providers, and nonprofit owners.
