The Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis is now accepting applications for cannabis business licenses through the online Business Licensing Application Portal.
The portal, which can be found by clicking here, will remain open from July 1, 2024 until August 31, 2024 for application submissions. The state will be accepting applications for four different categories; medical marijuana cultivator, dispensary, processor and safety-compliance facility (testing lab).
Below is the state’s application submission and review process.
Application submission Once the applicant submits an application and required documentation to the Program using the online application portal, the Program will acknowledge receipt of the application within fifteen (15) calendar days of submission.
Application review The Program will review each application to determine whether it is complete. The Program will provide applicants with written notice of any deficiencies, errors, or missing information identified during the application review. The Program will also alert applicants when it has determined an application submission is complete.
Curing of deficiencies After receiving a notice of application deficiencies, the applicant has ten (10) calendar days from the date of notification to resolve the identified issues and provide any missing information or documentation requested. Additional or corrected materials should be submitted through the same application saved on the licensing portal.
Acceptance or denial The Program will notify applicants whether their application has been approved or denied within forty-five (45) calendar days of receiving an application and determining its completion. Application denials will include written notice to the applicant that they may file a written request for an administrative hearing within thirty (30) calendar days after the mailing date of the notice.
Below is the lottery process
Step 1 A file of eligible applicants for each license category where a lottery is necessary will be prepared by the Cabinet’s Office of Medical Cannabis.
Step 2 The Office will assign each eligible applicant with a unique numerical identifier and then the Cabinet’s Office of Legal Services will de-identify the file and send to Kentucky Lottery Corporation (KLC).
Step 3 KLC will conduct an anonymous, randomized lottery for each license category necessary in accordance with a set of written rules established with the Cabinet.
Step 4 The lottery results will be provided by KLC to the Cabinet using an encrypted file listing the numerical identifiers selected by the lottery.
Step 5 The Cabinet’s Office of Legal Services will compare this file to the original and re-identify the unique numerical identifiers and send the results to the Office of Medical Cannabis.
Step 6 The Cabinet will announce the results of the lottery.
