Kentucky medical cannabis now reaches all 11 dispensary regions
Gov. Andy Beshear says patients can now buy medical cannabis in every licensing region, with 26 dispensaries open and more than 28,000 approved patients.
Kentucky's slow-rolling medical program just hit full coverage. Gov. Andy Beshear (D) announced on October 16 that medical cannabis is available in all 11 of the state's dispensary licensing regions, after Sunnyside Dispensary opened in Floyd County that week.
The numbers: 26 dispensaries serving patients, 46 licensed businesses across the supply chain, more than 28,000 approved patients and over 500 practitioners registered to recommend cannabis. Not bad for a program whose law took effect at the start of 2025 and whose first store didn't open until December of that year.
Beshear has kept pushing the program by executive order. In June he added 15 qualifying conditions, including Parkinson's, fibromyalgia, arthritis and glaucoma, after the Legislature didn't act. That's drawn pushback from House Majority Whip Jason Nemes (R), who asked the attorney general to stop state agencies from cooperating with the expansion.
Why it matters: A Southern state with no legal access three years ago now has a statewide medical market, and that's the kind of foothold that moves the politics over time.
