For now, medical cannabis is slated to be legal statewide on January 1, 2025 and while that may seem a ways off, a number of moving pieces have to come into place – including a fixed start date.
Under state law, there are two ways cities can regulate medical cannabis. Adrian Bryant with CivicLex says city staff are getting started on examining those avenues.
"One of them is zoning, so if you're a locality that has zoning then you can decide what zones the various types of cannabis businesses could operate in," Bryant says. "And then cities are also permitted to do their own fees, taxes, and things like that."
A zoning ordinance text amendment has been drafted and will be presented to council, as the city tries to work out where the product can be grown, processed, run through safety protocols, and then finally purchased.
But there’s also the possibility that the timeline could change, with lawmakers in Frankfort weighing new legislation.
"There are some current bills in the legislature that may move that start date from January 1, 2025 up to either August or maybe immediately," he says. "We don't know what's going to happen."
Whatever happens, Lexington’s medical cannabis regulations will need the stamp of approval from both the planning commission and the city council to move forward.
