Gov. Andy Beshear announced on Thursday that KCA Labs in Nicholasville received the first license under the state’s medical cannabis program that will launch Jan. 1, 2025.
“KCA Labs is a safety compliance facility,” said Beshear in a news conference on Thursday. “These facilities are responsible for testing every medical cannabis product before it gets to a Kentucky cardholder.”
KCA Labs has been in operation since 2019 and has 2,000 clients globally.
The state received 4,998 applications for medical cannabis business licenses that will be awarded through a lottery system.
There’s no limit on licenses for safety compliance facilities, so KCA Labs wasn’t subject to the lottery.
A random drawing will take place Oct. 28 to award licenses to cultivators and processors of medicinal hemp. Next month’s lottery will be conducted by the Kentucky Lottery Corporation and live-streamed to the public.
A lottery to award dispensary licenses will likely take place in November.
The Kentucky legislature passed a bill last year legalizing medical cannabis for people suffering from a range of chronic illnesses, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder.