Kentucky facility begins cultivating state's first medical cannabis inventory

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Gov. Andy Beshear announced a step forward Tuesday in the process to get medical marijuana to Kentucky dispensaries.

Armory Kentucky—a Tier II cultivator based in Mayfield—has introduced the first medical cannabis inventory in the state's history. Cultivation at the site in Graves County began Friday, following the facility's approval after an inspection by the Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis.

The start of cultivation at the Mayfield facility marks "a major milestone" "to deliver safe, affordable access to medical cannabis," Beshear said in a news release Tuesday. He added that additional licensees—including processors and testing labs—should be starting operations in the coming weeks.

The process to legalize medical marijuana in the commonwealth has been ongoing for several years. In March 2023, Beshear signed Senate Bill 47, which legalized medical cannabis for eligible patients starting Jan. 1 of this year. In April 2024, the governor signed House Bill 829, moving up the timeline by six months to begin medical cannabis licensing. Last July, the Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis started taking applications from prospective businesses.

Despite medical marijuana becoming legal in Kentucky more than six months ago, patients have not yet been able to get any product. All product sold in Kentucky must be grown in Kentucky, so dispensaries are not yet in operation as they wait for product to be grown at state-approved cannabis cultivator facilities.

The Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis, which is part of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, was tasked with implementing and administering the state's Medical Cannabis Program. As of April 2024, the state said the program had filed 17 regulations to establish the processes and procedures for businesses and registered cardholders.

To date, the state has licensed 81 businesses and registered over 400 medical cannabis practitioners.

As of Tuesday, the state said more than 17,000 Kentuckians have been issued a written certification and more than 11,000 have received a medical cannabis card.

To learn more about the rollout of medical marijuana in Kentucky and the Medical Cannabis Program, click here for the state's dashboard. It includes information and links to apply for a medical cannabis card, find a practitioner, find a dispensary once they open and more.

The state is hosting webinars for potential patients and caregivers about how to become a cardholder. The next webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, July 16, from 12-1 p.m. Registration is required to attend, which can be done so by clicking here. The webinars include information about the process, who qualifies for a card, how to get written certification to obtain a card and how to register for a card.

Lawsuit raises concerns over transparency, legality of medical cannabis rollout

Tuesday's announcement came as the state faces concerns over transparency and the legality of its rollout of medical cannabis. Three Louisville-area business filed a lawsuit last month against Sam Flynn, director of Kentucky's Office of Medical Cannabis, and Attorney General Russell Coleman over how the state awarded its first round of medical marijuana licenses.

The Kentucky Lottery conducted the random drawing in April to determine which applicants would receive one of the limited number of licenses to grow, process, or sell medical cannabis.

The lawsuit is just the latest criticism of Kentucky’s rollout of its new medical marijuana program. In January, a WDRB investigation into Kentucky's medical cannabis rollout exposed potential lottery loopholes. State records showed nearly 90% of the medical marijuana license lottery winners are from out of state. Business applications of the 74 winners show 66 of them have connections to out-of-state owners or board members. Only eight LLCs were solely connected to Kentuckians.

Kentucky Auditor Allison Ball is also investigating the process to award licenses after her office received numerous complaints about how it was conducted.

Beshear has stood by the state's decision to award licenses via a lottery process, previously stating he believed any other option would have taken much longer and could have been tied up in the courts with lawsuits.

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