On March 31, 2023, Gov. Andy Beshear (D) signed Senate Bill 47, legalizing medical cannabis in the state.

The Office of Medical Cannabis in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services is charged under KRS Chapter 218B with implementing and administering Kentucky's Medical Cannabis Program.

The program has filed 17 regulations establishing the processes and procedures for medical cannabis businesses and registered cardholders. The program has distributed 16 cultivation licenses, 10 processor licenses, and 48 dispensary licenses and as of January 1, 2025, these licenses are now operational.

January 2022 | WM Technology ("Weedmaps") acquired Eyechronic for approximately $35MM

Operators should keep an eye on Kentucky as the Bluegrass State begins to distribute medical cards to qualified patients and operators begin to bring product online. Cultivators were not allowed to begin operations until January 1, 2025, so it'll be a few months while inventory ramps up. We will be keeping an eye out for patient count and sales data to measure the progress of one of the most restrictive medical-use programs across the nation.

Similar to other markets adopting cannabis regulations, there will be pressure to purchase or lease the best real estate parcels as there are a finite number of compliant quality locations with landlords willing to lease or sell to a cannabis operator.

‍