Applications for medical marijuana cards in Kentucky officially opened on January 1.
Two lotteries have already been held for growers and distributors in the Commonwealth, with four dispensary licenses going to businesses in Northern Kentucky.
Out of 334 eligible applications in the Northern Kentucky region, the following four were selected:
- Yellow Flowers, LLC in Erlanger (Kenton County)
- Nicole Tirella in Alexandria (Campbell County)
- Bluegrass Cannacare, LLC in Florence (Boone County)
- Green Grass Cannabis, LLC in Erlanger (Kenton County)
The Northern Kentucky region is comprised of the following counties: Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Carroll, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, Owen and Pendleton.
The portal for applications to become a medical marijuana card holder has already opened on the Office of Medical Cannabis website.
Applicants were able to begin seeing authorized doctors for written certifications for the cards on December 1. This step needs to have been taken by patients before applying for a medical marijuana card. Becoming a cardholder also comes with a one-time $25 fee.
The approval process for medical marijuana cards could take a few days, Kentucky officials have said. In addition, Governor Andy Beshear said he cannot be certain whether every dispensary will have product available for sale in the beginning.
Because all marijuana products sold in the Commonwealth have to also have been grown there, the process for obtaining products could be slowed. Sam Flynn, the executive director of Kentucky's medical marijuana program, told WCPO sister station WLEX that's because cultivators need to go through several steps before they can begin growing.
"Each facility needs to be inspected before they can become operational and receive cannabis products or begin cultivating cannabis," said Sam Flynn, the executive director of Kentucky's medical marijuana program. "So, we'll know in advance of that time when they're ready to operate."
But what about medical marijuana and gun ownership?
Gun owners in the Commonwealth should pause before applying to become a medical marijuana cardholder.
Although medical marijuana use in Kentucky has been legalized, using marijuana and having a gun is a combination that doesn't legally mix at the federal level.
In a press release from 2023, when Minnesota eased some marijuana restrictions, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it still considers marijuana a controlled substance under the Gun Control Act of 1968.
Despite states — and voters — opting to legalize marijuana in medical or recreational forms for several years now, the ATF said marijuana users are still "federally defined as an 'unlawful user' of a controlled substance and is therefore prohibited from shipping, transporting, receiving or possessing firearms or ammunition."
Despite President Joe Biden's announcements earlier this year that he plans to reschedule marijuana, hearings on the proposal to formally re-consider marijuana as a schedule III drug are still being held.
Currently, marijuana is still a schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act — the same category as heroin. Making it a schedule III drug would instead put it in the same category as Tylenol with codeine, ketamine, anabolic steroids and testosterone.
But until that happens, the ATF says gun owners will have to choose between legally owning a firearm and using marijuana products.
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