Is Nicholasville’s medical marijuana dispensary open? Here’s when you can shop
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Blue Sage in Nicholasville plans soft open Jan. 26 and grand opening Jan. 29.
- Store will operate daily 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., employ nine staff and stock six strains.
- Kentucky cardholders must present state medical card and photo ID to purchase.
A Jessamine County medical marijuana dispensary is preparing to open its doors to card-holding patients next week, with plans for a soft opening at 9 a.m. Monday, Jan. 26.
Blue Sage dispensary, located at 172 Imperial Way in Nicholasville, will initially open with six strains of pre-packaged flower cannabis products. Following its soft-launch early next week, the retailer is planning a ribbon cutting and grand opening Thursday, Jan. 29.
The store will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and employ nine people.
State and local officials will be in attendance for the grand opening next week, according to Boston Dickerson, director and CEO of Trilux KY Management, the company overseeing operations at Blue Sage.
“We think we have ample supply to be able to continue through the weekend and not have to close the doors,” Dickerson told the Herald-Leader Wednesday, Jan. 21.
Blue Sage will be the second medical marijuana dispensary to open in Central Kentucky this month.
The first was Speakeasy in Lexington’s popular Hamburg shopping district, which opened to hundreds of patients last week after its Jan. 15 launch. A third store, nuEra Frankfort, recently announced plans to open in Kentucky’s capital city Wednesday, Jan. 28.
The Post dispensary in Ohio County near Owensboro, was the first to open in Kentucky. It launched in December before running out of inventory and then reopening on a daily basis as of last week, according to its website.
Problems with cannabis purchases in Kentucky
Only Kentucky medical cannabis cardholders are able to purchase at retail stores, and recreational marijuana, along with smoking marijuana, remains illegal in the state.
Speaking to the Herald-Leader Wednesday, Dickerson said open dispensaries around Kentucky have encountered patients who don’t have the correct documentation to legally purchase medical cannabis. Some patients are showing up at stores with the initial certification they obtain from their health care provider, proving they have one of six qualifying health conditions.
However, there’s another step patients need to complete before they can legally purchase medical cannabis. Individuals must take their certification and submit it through an online portal maintained by the Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis to obtain a state-issued medical cannabis card.
To legally purchase medical marijuana at a dispensary in the state, Kentucky patients need to bring their medical marijuana card and a photo ID to the store.
Out-of-state patients must present a valid visiting patient registry ID card and a government-issued photo ID. Alternatively, they can bring a valid medical cannabis card issued by their home state, a photo ID and documentation verifying they have been diagnosed with a qualifying condition under Kentucky law.
“We’ll be able to walk them through the process, pull them aside and show them a demo of how they get on and actually upload their certification,” Dickerson said.
Patients shopping at Kentucky’s medical marijuana dispensaries should expect high prices, at least initially as the state’s program works to build more supply. At Blue Sage, Dickerson said, an eighth of an ounce of flower will cost between $60 to $65.
The store is offering several discounts to patients, including a one-time 15% discount off their purchase for joining its loyalty program. There will also be 10% discounts for seniors, veterans and students, among others.
While patients at Blue Sage may notice a limited product selection at first, Dickerson said they will not face store-imposed purchase limits on the amount of products they can buy.
Kentucky patients can purchase up to a 30-day supply of medical cannabis during a given 25-day period. Patients visiting from other states can buy up to a 10-day supply every eight days.
Dickerson said additional marijuana strains will be available starting in late February. They will be sourced from VS Kentucky Ops, a growing operation also based in Jessamine County.
Blue Sage is also working to source edible products in the coming weeks, Dickerson said.
“Prices will come down,” Dickerson said. “Bear with us. We’re working with just a few cultivators open in the state right now, many of them with limited capacity. Selection and pricing will get a lot better as the industry comes online with more supply.”