Kentucky’s first medical marijuana dispensary opens

Kentucky’s first medical marijuana dispensary opened on Saturday, nearly one year after the program launched.

However, supply at The Post Dispensary in Beaver Dam was limited and expected to run out on the same day as the state’s slow rollout of medical cannabis continues, according to the Lexington Herald Leader.

Four cultivators have also been approved to grow medical marijuana in Kentucky, and nearly 24,000 residents have been issued MMJ cards, according to Gov. Andy Beshear.

Beshear signed medical marijuana legalization into law in 2023. The program launched on Jan. 1, 2025 – but with no medical cannabis available.

Another 48 licensed MMJ dispensaries in the process of opening. One additional dispensary, has been approved to operate, the newspaper reported.

The Post Dispensary’s December 13 opening represents several delays.  Gov. Andy Beshear, who signed off on the dispensary’s permit in August, said it would open in the fall.

A lack of licensed and active cultivation is responsible for the state’s slow rollout of legal MMJ.

Kentucky prohibits medical marijuana to be smoked in its raw form, so patients are limited to edibles, pills, beverages and topicals.

MMJ sales in Kentucky may reach $126 million in 2026, according to an MJBiz Factbook prediction.

It remains to be seen how MMJ sales may be affected by the presence of hemp-derived THC products like the low-dose drinks state lawmakers voted to regulate earlier this year.

Those products are scheduled to become illegal under federal law thanks to a budget bill President Donald Trump signed last month. It’s not yet known how the ban will be enforced.