LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A dozen cannabis businesses have received one of the final licenses to distribute medical marijuana in Kentucky.
During a random lottery on Monday, the Office of Medical Cannabis (OMC) distributed the remaining 12 medical cannabis dispensary licenses for the final licensing regions, Bluegrass and Kentuckiana, which include the state's two largest cities.
Four applicants were chosen for each region. While some businesses were chosen to operate in the same county, only one dispensary can operate in a single county. The others must move to another county in its approved licensing region, with the exception of Fayette and Jefferson counties.
Those counties were allocated an additional dispensary license due to the population size of Louisville and Lexington.
“Because our program is rooted in patient access, it is critical that our medical cannabis business licensing framework ensures that this new industry is stable and sustainable, with an emphasis on small business, and provides product growth to meet cardholder demand," OMC Executive Director Sam Flynn said.
More than 4,000 businesses submitted applications for the 48 available dispensary licenses available in Kentucky.
Of those, more than 1,200, about 40% of total applications, were for the Bluegrass and Kentuckiana regions.
The other 36 dispensary licenses were distributed in late November. And in October, 26 cannabis businesses received a license to grow and process medical marijuana in Kentucky.
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“Our hope is that certainly there will be additional conditions added later, in the future, whereby other Kentuckians will have access to treat chronic or difficult conditions,” Gov. Andy Beshear said. “If that’s the case, and or, we see more people qualifying than the initial projections suggested, that will give us an opportunity to expand this medical cannabis program.”
Businesses selected in Monday's drawing have 15 days to pay their licensing fee. If they don't pay the fee, Flynn said the business could forfeit their license.
Patients with qualifying medical conditions can apply for a medical cannabis card on or after Jan. 1, 2025.
To be eligible, patients will need to receive a written certification from an authorized doctor or nurse practitioner.
These cannabis businesses won a dispensary license on Dec. 16:
NOTE: An asterisk indicates that company was selected first to operate in a county if multiple businesses were selected for the same county in a region.
Region 1 - Bluegrass (Counties surrounding Fayette)
- Canntucky Ventures LLC – Frankfort, Franklin County
- Garry Kort – Richmond, Madison County*
- Robert Hoogendyk – Richmond, Madison County
- Thriveblue LLC – Georgetown, Scott County
Region 2 - Kentuckiana (Counties surrounding Jefferson)
- DNP-DH KY, LLC – Shepherdsville, Bullitt County*
- KY PRISTINE VISTAS LLC – Shepherdsville, Bullitt County
- DJS KY LLC – Shelbyville, Shelby County
- Pinnacle Path LLC – Shepherdsville, Bullitt County
Fayette County
- DHK KY LLC – Lexington, Fayette County
- ZenLeaf, Inc. – Lexington, Fayette County
Jefferson County
- Chung Woo Kim, LLC – Louisville, Jefferson County
- Upward Innovations – Louisville, Jefferson County
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