Kentucky Governor Touts Surge In Medical Marijuana Patient And Business Approvals As State Prepares For Program Launch

The governor of Kentucky is touting a milestone of registering more than
15,000 medical marijuana patients as the state’s program is set to
launch—and he says officials are expected to have approved licenses for all
four types of cannabis businesses to supply the market by next week.

During a briefing on Thursday, Gov. Andy Beshear (D) gave an update on the
commonwealth’s progress to stand up the medical marijuana program. And in
the nearly 300 days since the state started accepting patient applications,
21,000 electronic certifications have been processed. Of those, about
15,000 patients have been approved as card holders.

“Since taking office, my administration has been committed to providing
access to health care and creating safe communities in Kentucky,” the
governor said. “One of our priorities is to ensure that Kentucky suffering
from PTSD and serious medical conditions like cancer or multiple multiple
sclerosis can have safe access to medical cannabis as soon as possible to
get the relief they need.”

Part of the success of the program rollout and large volume of patient
certifications is the fact Kentucky now has about 500 doctors who are
authorized to issue written medical cannabis recommendations.

“That number is set to grow as more health care providers complete
training,” Beshear said.

After obtaining a written recommendation, patients use an online portal to
submit the information to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, after
which point officials review the application and issue a medical cannabis
card.

“We’re seeing strong engagement from our medical community, which shows
confidence in this program,” he said. “We’re also making progress when it
comes to the supply chain.”

There are four licensing categories within the state’s medical marijuana
program: cultivators, processors, safety compliance facilities and
dispensaries. The governor said “by next week, Kentucky will have approved
licenses in each and every category, which is great news.”

He added that the first processor license applicant will have their
facility inspected for approval on October 29, which will “complete the
program’s full process cycle from cultivation to dispensary.”

“We’re getting closer to delivering on the promise of safe medical cannabis
for Kentuckians in need,” Beshear said.

Tomorrow's Team Kentucky Update is full of good news around new jobs,
progress on medical cannabis and more, and we'll have a special visit from
First Lady @BritainyBeshear. Watch live via https://t.co/n7homY81I3 or
https://t.co/ofGhdJNhvn.

— Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) October 22, 2025

A Kentucky medical marijuana cultivation facility harvested its first yield
of cannabis earlier this month, the Office of Medical Cannabis (OMC) said.

Last month, Beshear said he thought medical marijuana would be available to
Kentucky patients by the end of 2025.

“I think most of our dispensaries now have their home address [and] are set
about where they’re going to be, but [for] some of the inspections that
have to happen in dispensaries, they have to have product that’s there,” he
said. “So I do believe they’ll be operating before the end of the year.”

Those comments came roughly a month after the governor announced that the state’s
first medical cannabis dispensary was officially approved for operations,
calling it “another step forward as we work to ensure Kentuckians with
serious medical conditions have access to the medicine they need and
deserve.”

He previously touted an earlier “milestone” in the state’s forthcoming
medical marijuana program, with a licensed cultivator producing “the first
medical cannabis inventory in Kentucky history.”

In July, Beshear sent a letter to President Donald Trump, urging him to
reject congressional spending bill provisions that would prevent the
Justice Department from rescheduling marijuana.

In the letter to the president, he emphasized that a pending proposal to
move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled
Substances Act (CSA) is something “you supported in your presidential
campaign.”

“That process should be allowed to play out. Americans deserve leadership
that won’t move the goalposts on them in the middle of the game,” Beshear
said, noting that he was among the tens of thousands who submitted public
comments in favor of the reform after it was initiated under the Biden
administration, “demonstrating broad public interest in rescheduling.”

“I joined that effort because this is about helping people. Rescheduling
would provide suffering patients the relief they need,” the governor said.
“It would ensure communities are safer—because legal medical products
reduce the illicit market. It would provide new, meaningful research on
health benefits.”

Beshear also mentioned a letter to DEA he signed onto last year urging
rescheduling, “because the jury is no longer out on marijuana. It has
medical benefits.”

Back on the state level, the governor recently said he acknowledges that
“it’s taken longer than we would have liked” to stand up the industry since
he signed medical marijuana legalization into law in 2023.

In recognition of that delayed implementation, he recently signed an
executive order to waive renewal fees for patients who get their cards this
year so that they don’t get charged again before retailers open. And
another order he signed providing protections for qualified patients who
obtain medical marijuana outside of Kentucky “will stay in place.”

Beshear separately announced in May that the state has launched a new
online directory that lets people see where medical cannabis dispensaries
will be opening near them.

He emphasized that the state has been working to deliver access to patients
“at the earliest possible date,” and that involved expediting the licensing
process. The governor in January also ceremonially awarded the
commonwealth’s first medical marijuana cards.


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Meanwhile, the governor sent a letter to Kentucky’s congressional
delegation in January, “urging them to take decisive action to protect the
constitutional rights of our law abiding medical cannabis patients” by
repealing the federal ban on gun possession by people who use marijuana.

That came after bipartisan Kentucky senators filed legislation that
similarly called on the state’s federal representatives to take corrective
action, which Beshear said he supports but would like to see even more
sweeping change on the federal level.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
warned Kentucky residents late last year that, if they choose to
participate in the state’s medical marijuana program, they will be
prohibited from buying or possessing firearms under federal law.

As far as the implementation of the state’s medical cannabis law goes,
Beshear said in his State of the Commonwealth address in January that patients
will have access to cannabis sometime “this year.” He also later shared
tips for patients to find a doctor and get registered to participate in the
cannabis program.

Health practitioners have been able to start assessing patients for
recommendations since the beginning of December.

While there currently aren’t any up-and-running dispensaries available to
patients, Beshear has further affirmed that an executive order he signed in
2023 will stay in effect in the interim, protecting patients who possess
medical cannabis purchased at out-of-state licensed retailers.

During last year’s November election, Kentucky also saw more than 100
cities and counties approve local ordinances to allow medical cannabis
businesses in their jurisdictions. The governor said the election results
demonstrate that “the jury is no longer out” on the issue that is clearly
supported by voters across partisan and geographical lines.

*Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.*

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