Kentucky voters decide where medical cannabis businesses will be allowed

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

"Each year we went to Frankfort, we got less 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 Kentucky NORML Executive Director Matthew Bratcher.

The Kentucky General Assembly passed a bill legalizing medical marijuana last year. It will be enacted January 1, 2025.

"I'm not surprised at all that everybody wanted to have a cannabis business in their area."

But voters still had to decide where the businesses, like cultivators and dispensaries, will open. So 53 cities and 53 counties let voters decide whether the businesses should be allowed to open in their communities, and it was a yes from all of them.

"With the large cultivation firms you can see upwards of 100 jobs of more. Processors are going to need lots of people. Dispensaries are going to need a lot of people. These are good jobs with benefits that probably pay a lot more than some of your more entry level positions. It's going to be great for our workforce and the communities they're in."

The Executive Director of Kentucky NORML , Matthew Bratcher, has been pushing for this change for years.

"We've got such a high number of disability cases here in Kentucky, as well as higher rates of cancer and other things. This is going to really help bring some of those numbers down."

Kentucky has already started distributing licenses to medical cannabis businesses via a lottery system, including Limestone Processing.

"There were 290 people in our category. Only 10 were chosen and we were one. By definition, we're really lucky and we feel fortunate," said Gary Hilliard, the co-owner of Limestone Processing.

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

"Get people back on the path to healthiness," Bratcher said.

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