NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — Starting Jan. 1, 2025, qualifying patients in Kentucky will have access to medical cannabis.
Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., awarded the first medical cannabis business license Sept. 26 to KCA Labs, a Nicholasville laboratory.
Before being prescribed to patients, all medical cannabis products in Kentucky will undergo testing at a safety compliance facility like KCA Labs in Nicholasville. Richard Sams, the lab's scientific director, said this is a standard procedure in all states that have legalized cannabis.
“We will be testing all of the different types of consumer products that will be available under the medical cannabis program: tinctures, gummies, topical products, materials for vaping," Sams said.
The lab has performed testing on hemp products since 2019. Hemp is defined as having no more than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels.
Sams said the hemp industry took off after Congress passed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 and was declassified by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“I love that the first license is going to an entity that helps us do this safely," Beshear said.
Much like hemp products, the lab will be testing medical cannabis products for levels of solvents, pesticides, heavy metals and pathogens. Products that fail a test can either be remedied, if possible, by the producer or destroyed if there's no fix.
“People who are going to be permitted to use these products are sick, and they need to be protected from some of the substances that we are testing for," Sams said.
Some qualifying conditions for patients to use medical cannabis are cancer, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder and multiple sclerosis.
“We believe that medical cannabis is an important therapeutic opportunity for patients," Sams said.
Patients can begin applying for a medical cannabis card Jan. 1, 2025.
The General Assembly passed the medical cannabis law in a bipartisan manner in 2023, with Beshear signing it into law.