Every Northern Kentucky city voted to allow medical cannabis operations this election. What happens next?

KENTON COUNTY, Ky. — In a strong show of support, 106 Kentucky cities and counties voted to allow medical cannabis businesses to operate where they live during this November’s election.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear made the announcement during a Nov. 7 Team Kentucky update.

The list includes 10 Northern Kentucky cities: Alexandria, Bellevue, Crestview Hills, Elsmere, Florence, Independence, Ludlow, Southgate, Union and Wilder.

“This signals what we have known for a long time, which is that the jury is no longer out on medical cannabis,” Beshear said. “Kentuckians want their families, friends and neighbors who have serious medical conditions like cancer, multiple sclerosis or PTSD to have safe and affordable access.”

The ample demand for medical marijuana business is met with a low supply of operating licenses, Bellevue Mayor Charlie Cleves said.

“I mean, we are a tiny little piece of this great big puzzle,” Cleves said. “The odds are against us getting it. We’re so tiny and we had so few applications compared to cities like Covington [and] Newport.”

Cleves said voters in his city approved the ballot measure by about three-to-one.

“I was surprised at the amount it passed in Bellevue,” he said. “Some of the residents that I speak to are dead bang against it … a lot of the younger people think of it as a good thing. So I just tell them whatever happens, happens.”

A state-run lottery for processor and cultivator licenses has already taken place, with zero licenses issued to businesses in Boone, Kenton or Campbell counties. Kentucky has two more lotteries scheduled this year to deal out dispensary licenses.

The first dispensary lottery, scheduled for Nov. 25, will draw license winners in nine of Kentucky’s 11 medicinal cannabis regions, including the Northern Kentucky region.

Each region will be awarded four licenses, with a limit of one dispensary license per county.

The Northern Kentucky region is comprised of the following counties: Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Carroll, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, Owen and Pendleton.

That means out of 395 businesses that applied in the Northern Kentucky region, only four will receive licenses.

Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis

The second lottery will take place on Dec. 16 for Louisville, the Kentuckiana Region, and Lexington, the Bluegrass Region. Due to their size, the counties located within the regions, Jefferson and Fayette counties, will receive an additional two licenses each.

Before medical marijuana operations commence, cities are responsible for creating zoning regulations to make way for (or not allow) those types of businesses to run.

“I think it’s a long shot we’re going to get a business,” Independence Mayor Chris Reinersman said. “We are neither advocating nor trying to deter businesses.”

Reinersman said zoning changes are already in the works, thanks to a “model ordinance” drafted by the Planning and Development Services of Kenton County.

He said the Independence City Council will hold a second reading of the ordinance during its Monday meeting.

“Assuming it passes, we’ll have the zoning in place Jan. 1,” he said.

Reinersman said Independence will review its employment policies too.

“For our 50-plus city employees — particularly, we have police officers and that’s a concern there — we want to make sure we have those bases covered,” he said. “We’re working with other cities and the Kentucky League of Cities [on that].”

According to the Office Of Medical Cannabis, those who apply for a medical marijuana card must be a Kentucky resident, have no disqualifying felony offenses and be diagnosed with at least one of the following medical conditions:

• ​Any type or form of cancer;
• Chronic or severe pain;
• Epilepsy or other intractable seizure disorder;
• Multiple sclerosis, muscle spasms or spasticity;
• Chronic nausea or cyclical vomiting syndrome and;
• Post-traumatic stress disorder.

Kentucky will begin accepting applications for cards on Jan. 1, 2025. Before applying, those seeking a card must get a “written certification for medical cannabis from an authorized medical practitioner,” according to the Office Of Medical Cannabis.