Kentucky Medical Marijuana Growers Will Be ‘Putting Seed In The Ground Really Soon,’ Governor Says

The governor of Kentucky says that he expects to see medical marijuana growers “putting seed in the ground really soon,” projecting that patients will have access to cannabis before the year’s end.

Speaking with reporters after his “Team Kentucky” update, Gov. Andy Beshear (D) was asked whether medical marijuana patients will have to wait until 2026 before dispensaries open and products are available.

“I hope not,” the governor said. “On medical marijuana, we’re getting really close—this fall and this winter, I think we are very close to doing our site visits to both growers and potentially even the first processor.”

“My sense is that it’s probably the processors—with the amount of equipment and the size of the investment there—that are going to drive that,” he said. “But the first set of growers are going to be putting seed in the ground really soon.”

Beshear added that he acknowledges “it’s taken longer than we would have liked” to stand up the industry since he signed medical marijuana legalization into law in 2023.

“But the law kind of set that up with how it had to be implemented,” he said.

The governor noted that, in recognition of the delayed implementation, he recently signed an executive order to waive renewal fees for patients who get their cards this year so that they don’t get charged again before retailers open. And another order he signed providing protections for qualified patients who obtain medical marijuana outside of Kentucky “will stay in place.”

“We’re making sure that that doesn’t hold us back from getting the other parts open, because we’re opening all these different parts at the same time,” he said. “So almost all of our dispensaries [that received licenses] now have their final counties. I think we will have all of them with the final counties here in about a month.”

Beshear separately announced this month that the state has launched a new online directory that lets people see where medical cannabis dispensaries will be opening near them.

He emphasized that the state has been working to deliver access to patients “at the earliest possible date,” and that involved expediting the licensing process. The governor in January also ceremonially awarded the commonwealth’s first medical marijuana cards.

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Meanwhile, the governor sent a letter to Kentucky’s congressional delegation in January, “urging them to take decisive action to protect the constitutional rights of our law abiding medical cannabis patients” by repealing the federal ban on gun possession by people who use marijuana.

That came after bipartisan Kentucky senators filed legislation that similarly called on the state’s federal representatives to take corrective action, which Beshear said he supports but would like to see even more sweeping change on the federal level.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) warned Kentucky residents late last year that, if they choose to participate in the state’s medical marijuana program, they will be prohibited from buying or possessing firearms under federal law.

As far as the implementation of the state’s medical cannabis law goes, Beshear said in his State of the Commonwealth address in January that patients will have access to cannabis sometime “this year.” He also later shared tips for patients to find a doctor and get registered to participate in the cannabis program.

Health practitioners have been able to start assessing patients for recommendations since the beginning of December.

While there currently aren’t any up-and-running dispensaries available to patients, Beshear has further affirmed that an executive order he signed in 2023 will stay in effect in the interim, protecting patients who possess medical cannabis purchased at out-of-state licensed retailers.

During last year’s November election, Kentucky also saw more than 100 cities and counties approve local ordinances to allow medical cannabis businesses in their jurisdictions. The governor said the election results demonstrate that “the jury is no longer out” on the issue that is clearly supported by voters across partisan and geographical lines.

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Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.