How quickly can KY officials open marijuana dispensaries? What the state says
Almost 10 months after Kentucky began accepting applications for medical marijuana cards, state officials are still working to establish an ecosystem of cultivators, dispensaries and related businesses and get product into the hands of patients.
Leaders at the Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis briefed lawmakers in Frankfort Wednesday on the program’s progress, which now counts some 15,000 cardholders among its ranks.
Speaking to legislator members of the Interim Joint Health Services Committee, OMC Executive Director Cannon Armstrong said 46 of 48 dispensary businesses have found permanent locations as they prepare to open. Last fall, the state held a series of lotteries to distribute the lucrative business licenses for dispensaries, cultivators and processors.
“We have a good spread throughout the state that’s going to make travel to these dispensaries within an hour, definitely under two hours, for anyone who is a cardholder,” Armstrong told lawmakers.
Smoking marijuana remains illegal in Kentucky, but once dispensaries open, cardholders will be able to shop for edibles, oils, tinctures and vape products. Raw plant material will also be available for at-home vaporization and edible-making.
To qualify for a card, patients need to apply through a state website and show proof from their health care provider that they have one of six qualifying medical conditions. These include any type or form of cancer, chronic or severe pain, epilepsy or other intractable seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis or spasticity, chronic nausea or cyclical vomiting syndrome or post-traumatic stress disorder.
Separately, qualified patients can also legally purchase medical marijuana out of state under the terms set out in an executive order from Gov. Andy Beshear. That order includes a more extensive list of qualifying conditions, such as Crohn’s disease, sickle cell anemia and HIV/AIDS.
Out of the more than 21,000 medical marijuana certifications health care providers have issued to patients, most are for chronic pain and PTSD, Armstrong said.
As dispensaries prepare to open, they’re confronting a complicated mix of state regulatory issues and supply-side challenges. Businesses need to undergo inspections and be cleared before they can open to customers. So far, the state has approved one dispensary in Ohio County, Armstrong said Wednesday.
According to its website, The Post dispensary is still preparing to open, anticipating welcoming customers this fall.
The Herald-Leader reached out to the state Office of Medical Cannabis with questions about how quickly it can approve dispensaries, but did not receive an immediate response.
Supply will continue to slow dispensaries opening across Kentucky, however. Stores must rely on in-state cultivators — also just getting off the ground — for product, which must be grown at secure, indoor facilities. Processors, another link in the supply chain, turn unprocessed cannabis into retail products that can be stocked on store shelves.
“The expectation is within the next month, we’ll have more than one dispensary that will be ready to operate. Again, that will be based upon the actual product that will be available for purchase. I imagine once that happens, we’ll see more dispensaries come online,” Armstrong said.
“Currently, we have three cultivators in the state who are actually growing medical cannabis. We’ll have one processor by the end of next week that will be coming online,” Armstrong said.
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