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No Kentucky city or county votes to ban medical marijuana businesses in their borders?
A scarecrow greets voters at the Community Ag Building on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024, in Simpson County. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony)
No counties or cities in Kentucky opted out of allowing medical marijuana businesses to operate in their borders after dozens had the chance to do so Tuesday.?
The legislature legalized medical marijuana in 2023 and licensing is underway for a 2025 program launch, but 106 jurisdictions (53 counties and 53 cities) let local voters decide if they wanted marijuana businesses nearby.?
Of those 106 ballot measures, no counties or cities opted to bar medical marijuana businesses from operating in their borders, according to data compiled by Louisville Public Media.
Eligible Kentuckians — those with ?a history of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), cancer or other approved medical conditions will be eligible to receive a medical marijuana card starting Jan. 1 next year.?
For a list of counties and cities that posed the question on their ballots, visit this page.?
Kentucky has already awarded its first 26 medical cannabis licenses, which went to 16 cultivators and 10 processors.?
Lottery drawings for dispensary licenses are scheduled for Nov. 25 and Dec. 16.
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Sarah Ladd
Sarah Ladd is a Louisville-based journalist from West Kentucky who's covered everything from crime to higher education. She spent nearly two years on the metro breaking news desk at The Courier Journal. In 2020, she started reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic and has covered health ever since. As the Kentucky Lantern's health reporter, she focuses on mental health, LGBTQ+ issues, children's welfare, COVID-19 and more.
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.