Kentucky voters will decide where medical cannabis businesses will be allowed

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – In more than 50 cities and counties, voters said “yes” to medical cannabis companies, including 11 in WKYT’s viewing area: Anderson, Bourbon, Clark, Clay, Jackson, Knox, Menifee, Mercer, Morgan, Scott and Woodford.

“Every year we went to Frankfort, we got fewer no’s than the year before. So we always knew the time would come when the dominoes would fall the rest of the way,” said Matthew Bratcher, executive director of Kentucky NORML.

The Kentucky General Assembly passed a bill last year legalizing medical marijuana. It will enter into force on January 1, 2025.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all that everyone wanted a cannabis company in their area.”

But voters still had to decide where businesses, such as growers and pharmacies, would open their doors. So 53 cities and 53 counties let voters decide whether businesses in their communities could open, and it was a yes from all of them.

“At the large cultivation companies you see more than 100 jobs or more. Processors will require many people. Pharmacies will need a lot of people. These are good jobs with benefits that will likely pay much more than some of your more entry-level positions. It will be great for our staff and the communities they are in.”

The Executive Director of Kentucky NORMALMatthew Bratcher has been pushing for this change for years.

“We have such a high rate of disability here in Kentucky, as well as higher rates of cancer and other things. This is really going to help bring some of those numbers down.”

Kentucky has already begun distributing licenses to medical cannabis companies through a lottery system, including Limestone Processing.

“There were 290 people in our category. Only 10 were chosen and we were one. By definition, we are really lucky and feel happy,” says Gary Hilliard, co-owner of Limestone Processing.

If you have a qualifying chronic condition, such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis or post-traumatic stress disorder, you can become a medical cannabis cardholder.

“Get people back on the path to health,” Bratcher said.

Kentucky NORML will host registration fairs in several counties starting in January.