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​Business Licensing Update

The lottery for the following dispensary regions will be held on November 25, 2024: Northeast, South Central, Cumberland, Mountain, Pennyrile, West Kentucky, Lincoln Trail, Northern Kentucky, and Green River. 

The lottery for the following dispensary regions will be held on December 16, 2024: Bluegrass and Kentuckiana. Additionally, lotteries will be held for two (2) dispensary licenses in Fayette County (in the Bluegrass region) and two (2) dispensary licenses in Jefferson County (in the Kentuckiana region). 

All of the lotteries will be held by the Kentucky Lottery Corporation and lived streamed on the Office of Medical Cannabis’ YouTube Channel​

​​​​​2024-10-31 DRAFT Dispensary Region Lottery Dates.jpg


The lottery for Cultivator Tier I, Cultivator Tier II, Cultivator Tier III, and Processor licenses was held on Monday, October 28, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. EST. The lotteries were held by the Kentucky Lottery Corporation and lived streamed on the Office of Medical Cannabis’ YouTube Channel. ​

You can view cannabis business licensees here​. ​

Upcoming Events for Practitioners

The Office of Medical Cannabis is hosting a series of webinars for licensed Kentucky physicians and APRNs on how to become authorized and registered to provide qualified patients with written certifications for medical cannabis. You can see the details h​ere

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​As part of his effort to reduce Kentuckians' reliance on addictive opioids and provide them with relief from severe and chronic pain, Gov. Andy Beshear signed Senate Bill 47 on March 31, 2023, which legalizes medical cannabis in the commonwealth effective Jan. 1, 2025.

The Office of Medical Cannabis in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services is charged under KRS Chapter 218B with implementing and administering Kentucky's Medical Cannabis Program. 

As of April 18, 2024, the Program has filed 17 regulations establishing the processes and procedures for medical cannabis businesses and registered cardholders.

Regulations regarding cannabis businesses establish how cultivators, processors, producers, safety compliance facilities, and dispensaries will apply, become licensed, and operate in the Commonwealth. Regulations regarding patients, designated caregivers, and practitioners establish the procedures to receive a written certification and a medical cannabis card, supply limits, and procedures to publish a list of varieties of medical cannabis. 

You can read all of the filed regulations here​

We thank you for your interest and look forward to sharing more information as the Office of Medical Cannabis implements this Program.


​Announcements​​

10/31/2024: Notice of initial cannabis business license application availability (Safety Compliance Facility)Upcoming: 11/13/2024 Healthcare Subcommittee Meeting Notice10/31/2024: Gov. Beshear provides Team Kentucky Update, Office of Medical Cannabis Announcements10/30/2024: Board of Physicians and Advisors Meeting Notice10/23/2024: Team Kentucy Medical Cannabis Workgroup Meeting Notice09/26/2024: Gov. Beshear Provides Team Kentucky Update, Awards First Medical Cannabis Business License. The initial cannabis business license period is currently closed. Please click here for more information. 09/12/2024 Agriculture & Economic Development Subcommittee Meeting Notice09/05/2024: Gov. Beshear Provides Team Kentucky Update, Update on Cannabis Business Applications and Licensing.SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE: Please note that the Business Licensing Application portal and Practitioner Registry portal will be offline for scheduled maintenance from September 25, 2024 at 9:00 PM EST to September 26, 2024 at 1:00 AM EST. MESSAGE TO PROSPECTIVE BUSINESS APPLICANTS: If you have an application ready for submission, please submit by August 15, 2024 in order to allow the Office sufficient time to process applications and maintain existing timeframes for license issuance. 07/26/2024: The Program has provided guidance for applicants seeking clarification of identified deficiencies. You can view the guidance here.07/24/2024: Team Kentucky Medical Cannabis Workgroup Meeting Notice07/17/2024: Board of Physicians and Advisors Meeting Notice07/11/2024: The Program has provided guidance on sufficient capital for cannabis business applicants. You can read it here.