State-registered medical cannabis patients in Kentucky can now legally access cannabis medicine under the new medical cannabis program rolled out in the state on January 1, 2025.
Officials with the Office of Cannabis Medicine (OCM) held a series of licensing lotteries in the months before the rollout, while medical cannabis patient registrations opened in November. OCM officials previously noted the agency had received nearly 5,000 medical cannabis business applications, of which 4,075 were for retail licenses. Just 48 dispensary licenses were awarded during the lotteries.
“Our system has been set up with two goals, first, to ensure patients get access quickly, that we don’t get caught up in court, that those who are suffering are able to secure medical cannabis in the commonwealth as soon as possible, and second, that the system operates safely.” — Gov. Andy Beshear (D), at a recent press conference, via the Louisville Courier Journal
Meanwhile, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives warned Kentucky residents last month that if they register for the state’s medical cannabis program, they will be prohibited from owning or buying guns under federal law, WKYT reports.
Patients must be approved for the program by their physician. Qualifying conditions for Kentucky’s medical cannabis program include:
- Cancer of any type or form
- Chronic, severe, intractable, or debilitating pain
- Epilepsy or other intractable seizure disorder
- Multiple sclerosis, muscle spasms, or spasicity
- chronic nausea or cyclical vomiting syndrome that has proven resistant to conventional treatments
- post-traumatic stress disorder
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