Yamila Chaisarn | iStock
Most prospective medical cannabis businesses interested in Kentucky’s expedited licensing process have yet to submit applications.
The state opened its two-month license application window July 1 for those planning to cultivate, process or sell medical cannabis in the Kentucky’s forthcoming program. And although Kentucky’s licensing portal—where applicants must set up an account prior to applying—indicates there is significant interest in the regulated marketplace, many aspiring cannabis entrepreneurs haven’t rushed to hit the apply button.
As of July 19, Kentucky’s licensing portal had 489 registered accounts, but only 17 applicants filed their paperwork for a chance to win one of the state’s 74 available licenses that will be awarded through a lottery in early October, according to the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS). The CHFS houses Kentucky’s cannabis program.
Kentucky’s initial medical cannabis business license allocations are:
- 16 cultivators
- 10 Tier 1 (up to 2,500 square feet)
- 4 Tier 2 (up to 10,000 square feet)
- 2 Tier 3 (up to 25,000 square feet)
- 10 processors
- 48 dispensaries (allocated across 11 licensing regions)
- No limit on testing labs
Licenses for a fourth cultivation tier, to grow up to 50,00 square feet of canopy, will be available in a future application process, according to the state’s medical cannabis program.
The nonrefundable application fees are $3,000 for Tier 1 cultivators, $10,000 for Tier II cultivators, $20,000 for Tier 3 cultivators, $5,000 for processors and dispensaries, and $3,000 for testing labs.
The application period runs through Aug. 31, so potential applicants with registered accounts still have more than five weeks to submit their applications.
“Within minutes of opening the application portal at 12:01 a.m. on July 1, individuals and businesses were already setting up accounts in the application portal,” according to a CHFS statement provided to Cannabis Business Times. “By 6 a.m., the cabinet had received eight applications. The cabinet has received 17 applications as of July 19.”
Of those 17 applicants, 11 applied for dispensary licenses, two applied for processor licenses, and four applied for cultivator licenses (two for Tier 1 permits and one each for Tier 2 and Tier 3 permits), according to the CHFS.
During this initial application period, interested parties cannot apply for more than one license type—there will be no vertically integrated operators from the program onset—but parties can submit multiple applications within a license type, according to state guidelines. (So, a business could apply for multiple dispensary licenses, for example.) However, businesses can only apply for one license within each cultivation tier or each dispensary licensing region.
In addition to the nonrefundable application fees, applicants must provide documentation showing they meet sufficient capital requirements, including:
- Tier 1 Cultivator - $50,000
- Tier 2 Cultivator - $200,000
- Tier 3 Cultivator - $500,000
- Processor - $150,000
- Dispensary - $150,000
- Testing Labs - $150,000
Some potential applicants with the 489 registered accounts could still be raising capital to meet these requirements before applying by the Aug. 31 deadline.
Kentuckians hoping to access the state’s forthcoming market can begin applying for medical cannabis cards on Jan. 1, 2025. The cannabis program’s timeline does not include a date for dispensaries to launch sales.
Under Kentucky’s medical cannabis legalization bill, which Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear signed in March 2023, the state’s regulators could not license businesses until Jan. 1, 2025. However, Beshear signed House Bill 829 into law in April 2024, expediting the licensing timeline by six months.
Beshear—who issued an executive order in late 2022 allowing Kentuckians to possess and consume small amounts of cannabis to treat their medical conditions, which led to the Republican-controlled General Assembly passing a legalization bill in early 2023—is a staunch supporter of cannabis reform, including federal rescheduling.
“This administration has been working hard to expedite the timeline for making medical cannabis available to Kentuckians with serious medical conditions,” Beshear said in a June 27 press release. “I am pleased to report that Team Kentucky will begin accepting applications from prospective medical cannabis businesses beginning next Monday, July 1—a full six months ahead of schedule.”
Although Beshear helped pave the path to medical cannabis legalization in Kentucky, as well as the expedited licensing timeline, cannabis advocacy group NORML took issue with other provisions included in H.B. 829.
For example, under the legislation, the CHFS may conduct criminal background checks to disqualify patients from entering the state’s cannabis registry if they were previously convicted of a felony offense. No other state imposes such patient restrictions, according to NORML.
In addition, H.B. 829 mandates medical practitioners to evaluate a patient’s medical history, including prescription drugs, before issuing a medical cannabis recommendation.
Lauren Bratcher, deputy director of Kentucky NORML, who worked with lawmakers to pass the 2023 law, criticized the restrictive provisions.
“House Bill 829 introduces burdensome provisions that will likely hinder patients’ ability to access medical cannabis,” she said in April. “These include background checks for patients, redundant regulations, and other requirements that will limit patients’ participation in the program. While expediting timelines may seem advantageous, the potential negatives embedded within the bill outweigh any perceived benefits. Patient access and rights must take precedence over expediency.”
Beginning July 1, Kentucky’s Board of Medical Licensure and Board of Nursing began taking applications from physicians and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) seeking authorization to write medical cannabis certifications.
The state’s medial cannabis program is partnering with these boards to help ensure Kentuckians will be able to find authorized physicians or APRNs near them, according to Beshear’s office.
“The Beshear administration is committed to ensuring Kentuckians with qualifying medical conditions have safe, affordable access to medical cannabis,” CHFS Secretary Eric Friedlander said in the June 27 release.
To help ensure a fair and transparent licensing process, Kentucky’s medical cannabis program issued a series of YouTube webinars and a business licensing application guide. Those resources and others are available here.
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