In-state access to medical cannabis will become a reality for many Kentuckians on January 1, 2025. In the meantime, counties and cities across the Commonwealth are still developing plans for their role in that landscape. City of Owensboro and Daviess County officials have already expressed they plan to support allowing a dispensary to open locally, and on Wednesday a state official spoke further about the rollout of the medical cannabis.
According to Shelby Lewis, Executive Policy Advisor for the Kentucky Medical Cannabis Program, all local government municipalities were automatically opted in to allow medicinal cannabis per statute. However, governments can decide for themselves whether they want to keep that distinction or modify its standards.
“There are ways for a county or city to opt out of having medical cannabis within their jurisdiction, but at the baseline, everyone is automatically opted in. In addition to that, local governments may establish time, place, and manner restrictions if they allow cannabis businesses within their jurisdiction, and they may also establish reasonable local fees for local administration of cannabis businesses,” Lewis said.
In Owensboro-Daviess County, the majority of elected officials support medical cannabis being available locally. According to the state statute, in the first phase of the program, only four dispensaries will be open per economic district, and only one will be allowed in each county.
The Green River Area Development District comprises Daviess, Union, Webster, Henderson, McLean, Ohio, and Hancock counties, and all seven have maintained their opted in status. That means four of those counties could be chosen to allow a distillery to open in the first phase.
Applications for dispensary licenses are being accepted until August 31. If there are numerous applications per county, the state will decide how best to proceed.
Lewis said the dispensaries chosen will not look like the pop-up shops that are selling vapes now.
“These dispensaries are not going to be like the little vape shops that keep popping up on every single corner. They are going to be more like a pharmacy, and there’s only going to be one in Daviess County if allowed,” Lewis said.
She also noted that only patients who have received a prescription from a “medical cannabis practitioner” can utilize the dispensary for their needs. Those practitioners will be certified through the state’s office to ensure they are qualified to sell.
Lewis noted that while prescriptions can be given at any age, dependent on the doctor’s recommendation, only those 18 years and older can enter the dispensary. If someone cannot do so, their caregiver will be granted a caregiver ID to retrieve the prescription.
As it stands, both the Fiscal Court and City Commission voiced support for the addition of a dispensary to Owensboro’s economic landscape. Should this change, or if people do not agree with the government agencies’ stances on medical cannabis, a petition could be crafted to have the action taken to a vote in November.
For more information about the process of applying as a business, click here.
