A cannabis testing laboratory is Nicholasville, Kentucky, is the first business to receive a license under the state’s medical marijuana program, which is supposed to launch next year.
KCA Labs currently tests hemp products but will be up to the task of testing marijuana, CEO Jonathan Thompson told the Associated Press.
“KCA’s vast knowledge and experience with testing hemp products will translate neatly into Kentucky’s new medical cannabis program,” Thompson said.
Cultivators and manufacturers hoping to win an MMJ license in Kentucky must enter a lottery set for Oct. 28; a lottery for dispensary licenses will likely be held in November, the AP reported.
There isn’t a lottery for testing labs because Kentucky doesn’t have a cap on the number of laboratories like it does the other licensing categories, according to the news service.
Nearly 5,000 applications were submitted in all licensing categories before the Aug. 31 deadline.
Gov. Andy Beshear, who signed Kentucky’s MMJ program into law in 2023, also welcomed KCA’s licensing.
“Our mission is to ensure Kentuckians with serious medical conditions have access to safe and high-quality, tested medical cannabis products,” Beshear said, according to the AP.
