Kentucky’s first medical marijuana dispensary approved for operation
By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
Kentucky’s first medical marijuana dispensary is expected to open in the fall, according to Gov. Andy Beshear.
“Great news, Kentucky — today, we approved the state’s first medical cannabis dispensary for operations in Beaver Dam,” Beshear said in a July 31 social media post. “The Post Dispensary is expected to open its doors this fall.”
“This is another step forward as we work to ensure Kentuckians with serious medical conditions have access to the medicine they need and deserve,” he wrote.
The announcement comes about two weeks after Beshear announced that Armory Kentucky LLC, a cultivator based in Mayfield, had introduced the “first medical cannabis inventory in Kentucky history,” following approval of its facility inspection.
“This administration made a commitment to Kentuckians suffering from cancer, PTSD, multiple sclerosis and other eligible conditions, and I am proud we are making progress to deliver safe, affordable access to medical cannabis,” Beshear said in a July 15 news release. “Through work with the General Assembly to move up business licensing by six full months and providing licensees with the tools they need to get up and running, we are closer than ever to providing Kentuckians with life-changing relief.”
The release added that “additional licensees, including processors and testing labs, are expected to begin operations in the coming weeks.”
The announcement also follows a letter from Beshear dated July 22 to President Donald Trump urging him to reject congressional spending language that would prevent the U.S. Department of Justice from rescheduling marijuana from a Schedule I drug, defined as one with a high potential for abuse and no recognized medical purpose, to a Schedule III drug, which would define marijuana as having a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.
“Patients suffering should have access to safe cannabis for treatment, and rescheduling would help provide more Americans – and Kentuckians – relief,” Beshear said in a news release. “This step would also help make our communities safer and fuel more meaningful research around cannabis that could help more people.”
Beshear’s letter was in response to fiscal year 2026 appropriations language passed out of the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies that would prohibit the U.S. Department of Justice from using funds to reschedule cannabis from its current Schedule I listing.
“This is not common-sense law,” Beshear wrote in the letter to the president. “It stops a process that is already underway to accomplish a policy end that is overwhelmingly supported by the medical and scientific communities, as well as the American people, of every political party. Congress should not take the decision-making process out of the hands of medical and scientific experts when they don’t like the results.”