LOUISVILLE, Ky. — We are learning more information about the businesses, selected during Kentucky’s medical marijuana dispensary lottery held two weeks ago. Of the 36 picked, it would appear that 31 licenses came from applicants associated with out-of-state addresses, according to records obtained through an Open Records Request.

Only a handful of licensees appear to be Kentucky-owned businesses. 

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., said Monday out-of-state applicants couldn’t be barred from applying.

“Any state that has done, a preference for in-state companies, has ultimately been sued and the program has been enjoying meaning it can’t start and they’ve had to do it over and over, some of them pushing back a year, and two years,” Beshear said.

Four of the limited liability companies (LLC) listed come back to an Arkansas-based business called Dark Horse Cannabis. Its website states the company was founded three years ago and has “a significant presence in Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi, spanning both wholesale and retail aspects.”

Beshear says each of those LLCs has separate owners.

Beshear adds down the road it’s possible Kentucky business owners could see a better chance of receiving a license. 

“My hope is in the second and in the third rounds, when we’re able to expand, when the legislature adds conditions, and when we see more people signing up the pace of it than maybe originally anticipated, we can try some things that would, that would more directly benefit local groups,” he said.

The governor adds any changes to how the state lottery was done would have held up the launch of the medical marijuana program, which is slated to begin in Jan. 2025.

On Monday, Dec. 16, the state will conduct one additional lottery for the remaining medical marijuana dispensaries.These will be in the greater Louisville and Lexington area, and both will get four licenses. Fayette and Jefferson County will also get 2 licenses each.