When will medical marijuana dispensaries open in Kentucky?

Originally published by Fox56’s Kiley Hill

KENTUCKY (FOX 56) — It’s been more than nine months since medical marijuana officially became legal in the commonwealth, but sales have yet to happen. 

Gov. Andy Beshear has previously acknowledged frustrations with the delay in launching the program. 

However, Kentucky NORML Executive Director Matthew Bratcher said this pace is pretty typical. 

“It takes a while to get an industry from the ground up,” Bratcher explained. “A lot of places have had to break ground and build from the ground up rather than retrofit buildings. So, it’s been expected that it would take kind of this long to get things going.”

Thousands of Kentuckians are still waiting to start treatment. 

State health officials said that roughly 11,500 people have been approved for medical cannabis cards since the program rolled out earlier this year. 

“I can understand the frustration of a lot of people who want to see it a little bit sooner,” said Bratcher. “They may already have their cards, and they may be ready to go ahead and start purchasing, but we’ve waited this long. We can wait a few more months.”

Kentucky law requires all cannabis sold in the state to be grown, tested, and processed within its borders. 

Bratcher said one of the biggest hurdles for business owners is zoning. 

“That can take quite a while sometimes, to get a zoning change or just to find a place that’s close and then getting that zoning taken care of,” Bratcher added. “Then you’ve got to build it out and make sure that all security is in place and all of the compliance is there.”

To ease frustrations over the delay, Beshear’s administration is waiving next year’s $25 renewal fee for cardholders. 

Bratcher said some sales may begin as early as next month.