LATONIA, Ky. — It’s hard to believe the transformation Latonia retiree Deborah Wisdom has undergone these last few years.

At one point, she said her chronic pain kept her bedridden.

“I have body aches all over. I’ve broken my back, broken my legs, my ankles, my feet,” Wisdom said. “I just lived upstairs in my bedroom and came down maybe to eat a meal, but that was it.”

Wisdom was prescribed medical cannabis as treatment — and it changed her life.

“Now, I can hang out with my grandchildren. I don’t get tired,” she said. “It just, it totally changed my world. It really did. I’m a much better wife, much better mother, much better grandmother.”

Deborah Wisdom

Having been afforded a new lease on life, Wisdom picked up a part-time job at Kroger to pass the time. She credits medical marijuana as the source of her progress.

“(Without it), I would be very sad,” Wisdom said. “That would mean that I would have to go back to taking more and more medication.”

Dr. James Weeks owns the practice where Wisdom is a patient: One Heart Medical. It operates in both Cincinnati and Fort Wright, Ky.

“There’s some enthusiasm, for sure,” Weeks said, describing the rollout in the commonwealth so far. “It’s kind of a breath of fresh air, that (patients) are actually able to access it, and they’ve been waiting for that.”

WATCH: Industry experts give an update on the Kentucky medical marijuana program’s rollout timeline

Since December, Weeks said, his practice has seen around 50 patients — mostly to treat chronic pain and cancer.

“We’ve seen some patients also with neurological conditions,” he said. “And, a couple people with epilepsy.”

Across the commonwealth, according to the Kentucky Cannabis Industry Alliance (KCIA), more than 5,200 medical marijuana cards have been distributed.

“We’re still a few months away from having dispensaries have product for patients,” said Rachel Roberts, KCIA executive director. “Licensees are procuring their locations, they’re building out their facilities, they’re starting to plant product.”

Across 11 Kentucky regions, 48 dispensaries were awarded licenses to operate.

Out of 334 eligible applications in the Northern Kentucky region, the following four were selected:

• Yellow Flowers, LLC in Erlanger (Kenton County)
• Nicole Tirella in Alexandria (Campbell County)
• Bluegrass Cannacare, LLC in Florence (Boone County)
• Green Grass Cannabis, LLC in Erlanger (Kenton County)

“If we continue at (this) rate, then I think we’re gonna look at tens of thousands of patients in the state of Kentucky,” Roberts said.
The portal for applications to become a medical marijuana cardholder has already opened on the Office of Medical Cannabis website.

Applicants were able to begin seeing authorized doctors for written certifications for the cards on December 1. This step needs to have been taken by patients before applying for a medical marijuana card. Becoming a cardholder also comes with a one-time $25 fee.

The approval process for medical marijuana cards could take a few days, Kentucky officials previously said.

The first dispensaries in the commonwealth should open by mid-to-late summer, Roberts said.