The Kentucky Medical Cannabis Program received 4,998 applications for medical cannabis business licenses. The state said it is working to get through these applications as quick as possible.
But this week, Governor Andy Beshear issued Kentucky’s first medical cannabis business license to KCA Labs, a hemp testing lab currently operating in Nicholasville. KCA Labs is a Safety Compliance Facility. These facilities are responsible for testing every medical cannabis product before it gets to Kentucky cardholders.
“We are so excited about the opportunity to be part of Kentucky’s medical cannabis program, and we’re thrilled to accept the first license,” said Jonathan Thompson, CEO of KCA Labs. “I want to thank the Governor and the Office of Medical Cannabis for setting up this licensing process, which has been seamless. KCA’s vast knowledge and experience with testing hemp products will translate neatly into Kentucky’s new medical cannabis program. We look forward to helping ensure the program provides the highest-quality products to Kentucky’s cardholders.”
The Governor announced that the license lottery for medical cannabis cultivators and processors will take place Oct. 28, 2024. Applicants for cultivator Tiers I, II, III and applicants for processors will be informed the week prior whether they are approved to the license lottery. The lotteries will be held by the Kentucky Lottery Corp. in Louisville and will be live-streamed so Kentuckians can tune in and follow along.
“Our mission is to ensure Kentuckians with serious medical conditions have safe access to high quality, tested medical cannabis products,” said Gov. Beshear. “Today, we took two more big steps toward that goal.”
