Kentucky’s governor says the state is “very, very close” to launching its medical marijuana program, which he expects to happen “within the next couple of weeks”—a move he says will help thousands of patients find an alternative to opioids for pain management.
During a press briefing on Thursday, Gov. Andy Beshear (D) was asked by a reporter to provide a status update on the medical cannabis law. He said the first dispensary, based in Ohio County, is set have “product on its shelf” in weeks.
“But we believe it’s going to scale up very quickly from that first moment,” the governor said.
Beshear went through more granular details about the program’s progress, touting the fact that 23,757 patients have received their e-certifications to access cannabis, including 1,756 who qualified to treat symptoms of cancer and 15,412 with chronic pain who would have “otherwise been taking opioids, which is one of the reasons that we’ve pushed this program so hard.”
With respect to marijuana business licensing, the state has so far approved 16 cultivators, 48 dispensaries and six safety compliance facilities. Officials have additionally certified 506 doctors to issue medical cannabis recommendations.
“Our Office of Medical Cannabis had staff in three
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