As the Boone County Fiscal Court considers whether to allow medical cannabis businesses to operate within its limits, it brought in a panel of experts to discuss the issue at its Thursday meeting.
The panel consisted of local healthcare experts, people from the health department, the sheriff’s office, the drug strike task force and the county attorney.
The point, said County Administrator Matt Webster, was to give election officials as much information as possible about their options and the process and to answer any questions they might have.
Medical cannabis will be legal in Kentucky starting Jan. 1, 2025, and cities and counties across Northern Kentucky have been mulling whether to allow these businesses to operate. Implementation timeline for medical marijuana business licenses in Kentucky
Each city is responsible for creating zoning regulations to make way for (or not allow) those types of businesses to operate.
According to the Office of Medical Cannabis, they will be accepting applications for licenses between July 1 and Aug. 31.
“If they get more applications than the licenses they want to issue, there will be a lottery,” said Sharmili Reddy, the executive director of Planning and Development Services of Kenton County. Reddy has been giving presentations to cities across Kenton County as they discuss their thoughts on the matter. “Based on this timeline, the earliest it will be is this fall before we will see the first set of licenses issued.”
Local governments have until Jan. 1 to take action on whether they want to allow businesses to operate in their cities and counties. But, if they want to allow enough time for residents to petition their decision and get it on the November ballot, Reddy said local governments need to act soon. The petition has to be certified by the county clerk by Aug. 13 in order to go on the November ballot.
If a county opts not to let businesses operate, but a city within that county opts in, the bill allows businesses to operate within that city’s jurisdictional boundaries.
Across all of Kentucky, the state will issue up to 10 licenses for cannabis processors and up to 48 licenses for dispensaries. Those licenses will be issued in 11 regions across the commonwealth.
Each region will initially be granted at least four dispensary licenses, but no more than one dispensary can be located in each county – the exceptions being Kentucky’s two largest counties, Jefferson and Fayette.
“There is an advantage for a community to make its intentions known before the July 1 deadline,” which is when businesses can begin applying for medical cannabis business licenses, said Judge/Executive Gary Moore. “I think it would be wise for us to say no before July 1, even if it’s a placeholder position, until things like zoning is put in place or until the voters decide.”
Boone County is leaving its options open so that it can make whichever decision makes the most sense at its June 18 meeting. Citizens will also be able to attend that meeting and give their opinions.
“We are trying to line up all the dominoes so that we can be very nimble,” Moore said.
Moore said he is also in favor of opting out of allowing businesses to operate for now.
“I have concerns that this is not a good fit for Boone County,” Moore said. One of his biggest concerns is that, even though the bill does not allow for medical cannabis to be smoked, it could be available in local dispensaries in the form that could allow it to be smoked.
“While it’s not allowed to be smoked in public places, once it’s legal as a medical prescription, I have concerns of where it goes next,” Moore said.
