A Jessamine County hemp testing lab has been issued the state’s first medical cannabis business license. Gov. Andy Beshear recently announced that KCA Labs has been named a cannabis Safety Compliance Facility, which is responsible for testing medical cannabis products.
“I want to thank the Governor and the Office of Medical Cannabis for setting up this licensing process, which has been seamless,” said Jonathan Thompson, CEO of KCA Labs. “KCA’s vast knowledge and experience with testing hemp products will translate neatly into Kentucky’s new medical cannabis program. We look forward to helping ensure the program provides the highest-quality products to Kentucky’s cardholders.”
KCA Labs operates in the corporate limits of Nicholasville, which had voted earlier in March to prohibit medical cannabis businesses in its jurisdiction. The city commission changed course in September after learning about KCA Labs and approved an ordinance to allow cannabis businesses.
The state received nearly 5,000 total applications for medical cannabis business licenses.
A lottery for cultivator and cannabis processor licenses will be held Oct. 28 and overseen by the Kentucky Lottery Corporation. Beshear said the process will be live streamed for the public to watch.
Dispensaries made up the bulk of license applications received by the Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis. A date for that lottery has not been announced, but Beshear cautioned that it may be in November.
“We had so many dispensary applications that we brought on new people to help [review] them, and we've got to do it right,” Beshear said.
Dozens of counties and cities have the question on the ballot in the upcoming general election of whether to allow medical cannabis businesses.