LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Medical marijuana businesses in Kentucky were awarded licenses to begin business ventures after a lottery was held on Monday.
Twenty-six applicants were selected for medical cannabis cultivation and processor licenses. These licenses are for cultivators and processors, not dispensaries. A cultivator grows and cures medical cannabis.
According to a news release, the available categories included 10 Tier I cultivator licenses, four Tier II cultivator licenses, two Tier III cultivator licenses and 10 processor licenses.
A processor turns the raw material into usable products like edibles. There were hundreds of cultivator and processor license applications, but the lottery will selected 16 cultivators and 10 processors. Applicants selected will have 15 days to pay their license fee to the Office of Medical Cannabis.
“All medical cannabis that is cultivated, processed, tested and dispensed will be done so right here in Kentucky,” Gov. Andy Beshear said in a news release. “Today’s lottery helps ensure those medical cannabis businesses can become operational so that Kentuckians with serious medical conditions can have safe, affordable access to the health care relief and choice they deserve at the soonest possible date.”
The state held a lottery on Monday to choose cultivators and processors from a pool of thousands of applicants.
Across the three cultivator tiers, there were 584 business license applications submitted and for processor there was 334.
“The lottery system is an approach that was adopted after reviewing best practices from other states that have an established medical cannabis market,” Sam Flynn, executive director of the Office of Medical Cannabis, said in a news release. “Since day one, our primary goal was to make the application and selection process as fair and transparent as possible. The Kentucky Lottery Corp. has been doing this for a long time, and we appreciate their professionalism and support in helping us carry out this endeavor.”
In Kentucky, dispensary licenses will be issued in eleven regions. Each dispensary region will have four dispensary licenses.
But there will be two additional licenses for Fayette and Jefferson counties.
A separate license lottery for dispensaries will be announced at a later date. To qualify for medical cannabis starting Jan. 1, 2025, the holder must have a qualifying medical condition like cancer, chronic pain, epilepsy or any other intractable seizure disorder, along with multiple sclerosis, muscle spasms, chronic nausea or other conditions.
“Today’s event continues to propel us forward as we move closer to Jan. 1, 2025, which is when patients will be able to apply for a medical cannabis card,” Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Eric Friedlander said in a news release. “Based on the number of applications received, the demand for this market is undeniable and we are excited for the opportunities that it will create for those in need.”
There are four businesses around the Louisville area, including Synapse Remedies LLC and KYP LLC in Jefferson County, along with Elevated Essence LLC and One Leaf Technologies LLC in Bullitt County.
Here are the 26 businesses selected in the lottery:
CULTIVATOR TIER I
- L&O Legacies – Boyd County
- Synapse Remedies LLC – Jefferson County
- CW Bluegrass, LLC – Daviess County
- Popp Cultivation LLC – Bracken County
- Arizona Bay Investments LLC – Lincoln County
- Wong Investments, LLC – Christian County
- Joseph Serock – Christian County
- Elevated Essence LLC – Bullitt County
- Slaughter Branch LLC – Hopkins County
- Goeing Blue LLC – Fayette County
CULTIVATOR TIER II
- NG Health LLC – Fayette County
- Armory Kentucky LLC – Estill County
- JMOKY LLC – Warren County
- Canopy Capital LLC – Grant County
CULTIVATOR TIER III
- Natural State GreenGrass CannaCo LLC – Warren County
- KSYKAPP, LLC – Barren County
Processor
- KYP LLC – Jefferson County
- Kaldem Holdings – Muhlenberg County
- Limestone Processing – Fayette County
- Hilltop Healing Investco – Warren County
- Bijal Kentucky LLC – Boyd County
- AJ Alchemy Labs LLC – Barren County
- Jill’s Dispensary LLC – Christian County
- One Leaf Technologies LLC – Bullitt County
- Ice House Processing, LLC – Fulton County
- LMMKY LLC – Warren County
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