Beshear: medical cannibis 'not likely' to be on Kentucky shelves Jan. 1

Come January, medical cannibis will be legal in Kentucky, but those who have been anticipating their first purchase may end up waiting a bit longer than they had hoped.

Gov. Andy Beshear noted at his Team Kentucky briefing on Thursday that “We are likely not to have...product on the shelf January 1.″ 

Meanwhile, he said the rollout of the state's website for patients is fast approaching.

“Just through a search off of our website, they are going to be able to find both the names and locations of the medical professionals they’re going to be able to see, and then the names and locations of the closest dispensaries,” said Beshear.

Matthew Bratcher with Kentucky's branch of NORML said that with cultivator and processor licenses just handed out a few weeks ago, and the plants still needing to grow after that, For higher tier cultivators, he said it could take up to a year to build out the larger growing operations. 

Bratcher estimated it may be anywhere from March to June to start to see availability of product for patients.

Bratcher says the timetable has led their organization, the commonwealth’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, to push back its own registration clinics.

On March 31, 2023, Governor Andy Beshear signed Senate Bill 47 into law, legalizing medical cannabis for Kentuckians beginning Jan. 1, 2025.