Medical marijuana companies will soon be able to operate in Fayette County.
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted unanimously Thursday to approve licensing and new zoning regulations for medical cannabis operators.
The state will likely start issuing licenses to those companies as early as July 1. Companies will then be able to operate starting Jan. 1, when medical marijuana becomes legal in Kentucky. Those licenses will be granted through a lottery system.
Under the state law, local governments can choose to prohibit medical cannabis operators or allow them. Many local governments are scrambling to either ban or regulate those businesses before July 1.
Some cities and counties have opted to ban them, including Boone and Campbell counties. The ban only applies to companies not the use of medical marijuana.
No one has spoken against Fayette County’s decision to allow medical cannabis businesses since the city began debate about the regulations in March.
Under Lexington’s ordinance, all medical cannabis businesses will be charged an annual licensing fee of $500.
Where dispensaries and cultivators will be allowed
The types of medical cannabis operators under the law include:
State law says no cannabis operation can be within 1,000 feet of a school or daycare. The zoning ordinance restricts where certain types of
