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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

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Overview​​

​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​​

Upcoming: 10/23/2024: Team Kentucy Medical Cannabis Workgroup Meeting NoticeUpcoming: 10/30/2024: Board of Physicians and Advisors 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 Notice07/15/2024: The Program has issued a new version of the Business Licensing Application Guide. You can view the new version here.07/11/2024: The Program has provided guidance on sufficient capital for cannabis business applicants. You can read it here. 07/11/2024: The Program has launched a "practitioner" webpage to provide information to physicians and APRNs who are interested in becoming a medical cannabis practitioner. You can view it here. 07/01/2024: The Office of Medical Cannabis is now accepting applications for cannabis business licenses through August 31, 2024. Click here for more information.