During Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear’s latest Team Kentucky Update, the state’s first medical cannabis ID cards were handed out – one to a doctor.

Since taking office, Governor Beshear has been focused on making cannabis medicines available in his state. Back in 2022, frustrated with slow progress on the part of lawmakers, he signed an executive order that enabled residents with certain medical conditions to possess and use small amounts from January 2023.

The order seemed to motivate lawmakers and Senate Bill 47, legalizing medical cannabis in the Commonwealth, was signed into law in early April 2023. The next step was setting up the program – developing regulations, licensing cannabis business and practitioner registration among the tasks. Another step was to set up a registry so that Kentuckians are able to register for ID cards, which kicked off on January 1 this year.

The administration received and processed close to 5,000 business licence applications. 81 cultivators, processors, testing labs and dispensaries have been licenced so far. More than 330 doctors and nurses have been registered to issue certifications to this point, and patient certification began in December 2024. Since that time, 6,557 patients have been issued with certifications.

Since January 1 this year, nearly 4,000 applications for medical cannabis cards have been received – and the first two were handed out during the update on January 30.

The first cardholder is also a doctor, a registered practitioner and part of the board of advisors for the program. Dr Ryan Grell, who is a triple board certified anaesthesiologist and whose passion for integrating medical cannabis into patient care goes back to his residency days.

“I’ve personally seen the difference medical cannabis can make in a patient’s life,” he said. “From managing pain to helping with mental health, medical cannabis can make patients’ lives immeasurably better.”

The second card went to a former teacher, who said:

“Through medical cannabis, Kentuckians get an alternative to opioids and have more control over their treatment.”

After the presentation, Governor Beshear announced 2,200 cards had been approved.

“We’ll continue to approve cards on a rolling basis moving forward,” he said.

The Governor mentioned that at the time of the update only 66 applications had been denied – 51 of which were due to technical issues and those patients can reapply. 15 were denied due to a disqualifying felony offence.

The full Team Kentucky update can be viewed here.

While cards are being issued, product still isn’t available – there should be a timeline announced soon. When available, medicine formats will include edibles, oils, tinctures, vapes and dried cannabis.