LEXINGTON, Ky. — By 8:30 a.m., more than two dozen Kentuckians had filed into a heated tent outside of Speakeasy Dispensary, braving 21-degrees temperatures for the promise of finally being able to purchase medical marijuana.
The Lexington dispensary, which officially opened its doors Jan. 15, is the second medical marijuana dispensary to open in Kentucky, bringing a new type of medical care to patients across the commonwealth and an opportunity, many hope, to ditch pills.
“Pharmaceuticals, they seem to come with more side effects than solutions,” said Matthew Williams of Lexington. “And that’s just not the case with herbs and medicinal cannabis.”
Williams was one of many waiting outside the Speakeasy Dispensary to purchase medical marijuana, the sale of which was legalized in Kentucky just over a year ago on Jan. 1, 2025. Products available at dispensaries for medical marijuana consumption in Kentucky include edibles, oils, tinctures, vapes and raw plant material. State law strictly prohibits the smoking of medical marijuana.
While recreational marijuana remains illegal in the commonwealth, medical marijuana, which is a prescribed product from a licensed physician containing THC — the psychoactive found in the cannabis plant — can be used to ease symptoms of certain medical conditions, including forms of cancer, PTSD, epilepsy and other seizure disorders and chronic and severe pain.
As of Jan. 8, more than 17,300 Kentuckians have been approved for medical cannabis cards, Gov. Andy Beshear previously said.
And those Kentuckians are showing up in droves for the product. The commonwealth’s first medical marijuana dispensary, The Post Dispensary, opened in Beaver Dam in December 2025 and quickly sold out of its products. Additional medical marijuana dispensaries are expected to open in the near future, including two in Jefferson County.
For Jackson County native James Parsons, the opportunity to legally purchase medical marijuana gives him a chance to break a more than decade-long addiction to pain pills.
Parsons, who said he started using pain pills in 2013, said, at one point, his addiction was so intense, he was taking 400 pills a month to deal with the chronic pain he had from years working in tobacco fields and as a maintenance man for a local high school. Through the throes of his addiction, Parsons said he often felt isolated and grew apart from his church, friends and family.
But with the promise of medical marijuana coming to the Bluegrass State, he mustered up the strength to quit pain pills, he said.
“I prayed. I never believed that I could ever see it legal here in Kentucky, I prayed for years for them to do that,” Parsons told The Courier Journal. “And lo and behold, here it is and I am so tickled to death.”
Jackie Holland has been waiting 20 years for the chance to use medical marijuana. The forklift operator from Winchester has had multiple back surgeries and pinched sciatic nerve issues throughout her life, leaving her with chronic back pain which can feel debilitating at times, she told The Courier Journal.
Holland arrived at Speakeasy Dispensary, 1849 Alysheba Way, by 6:45 a.m. to cement her fourth-place spot in line.
“It’s going to make a big change,” said Holland.
In a Team Kentucky meeting on Jan. 15, Beshear said “Medical cannabis will help people in need live fuller lives with less pain. It will help our economy. It will help create more jobs. It’s truly a win-win for everyone.”
Patients like Dorothy Webb and Roger Maupin also believe medical marijuana could change their life and offer them an opportunity to switch from over-the-counter drugs to a natural alternative.
Webb said she has used epidurals and medications to treat her chronic pain and PTSD and is looking forward to using medical cannabis creams to treat her conditions instead.
Maupin, said the 36 years he worked at Toyota Motor Manufacturing were “hard” on his body, resulting in a double hip replacement, multiple surgical operations on both shoulders, and a slew of other procedures, leaving him a chronic user of acetaminophen after his opioid prescriptions run out.
Maupin is excited to relieve his kidneys and liver from the stress of constantly processing acetaminophen with a “natural alternative pharmaceutical.”
“Kentucky’s like 20 years behind everybody,” Maupin said.
Williams, a professional therapist and a complex trauma survivor, said he’s been waiting years for this moment and as one of the first 100 patients in Kentucky to have been licensed, having a dispensary open in his city is “a little relieving.”
The Lexington resident, who is of Jamaican descent, described medical marijuana as “part of my lineage and my culture” and said he “believe(s) in the medicinal quality of not just this herb, but the herbs that the earth provides us.”
“I never thought it would come here,” he added. “So, I’m pleasantly surprised and relieved that it has actually made its way here and I hope it gets to the people that it needs to get to.”
Inside the Speakeasy Dispensary, patients walk through a pocket door and enter a dark space reminiscent of a 1920s speakeasy, with a majority of the decor paying homage to Lexington’s rich horse racing industry.
Products can be found in display cases along the sales floor where one of the roughly 40 employees can help talk patients through which product may be best for them. Speakeasy Dispensary, which currently has four available strains of medical cannabis for sale, plans to do weekly new product drops, said Casey Flippo, CEO of Gold Leaf Management, the company operating the Kentucky locations of the Arkansas-based dispensary chain.
Cardholders in Kentucky can possess up to a 30-day supply, with 10-day supplies also available. A 30-day supply consists of up to 112 grams of raw plant material, 28 grams of concentrates and 3,900 milligrams of THC-infused products such as edibles, oils and beverages. A 10-day supply is up to 37.5 grams of raw plant material, 9.5 grams of concentrates and 1,300 milligrams of TCH-infused products.
Flippo said one-eighth ounce costs about $60, but patients who sign up to the dispensary’s loyalty program will receive additional promotional discounts ranging from 10-20% off products and have access to the “white glove experience” in the Reserve Label room.
“The community here is so phenomenal,” Flippo said at Speakeasy Dispensary’s grand opening. “They’re excited about medical cannabis coming to central Kentucky, and we’re just happy to be great shepherds of the program.”
Parsons exited the dispensary on Jan. 15 having legally purchase RS54, an indica hybrid that has “easygoing effects” and boasts dominant notes of berry, citrus, tropical. Parsons said he spent $195 to purchase three sets of 4 grams and while he only left with one sack, he said the rest will be available to him when he comes back for a refill.
For the first time in more than a decade, Parsons feels like he has a chance to both lessen his physical pain and regain joy again.
“The good Lord, he’s got something for me,” Parsons said.
If you or someone you know has a substance use disorder, you can seek treatment through SAMHSA’s National Helpline by calling 800-662-4357 or visiting findtreatment.gov. You can also find resources at findhelpnow.org/ky.
Contact Business Reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@usatodayco.com or on X at @oliviamevans_.
In order to legally purchase medical marijuana in Kentucky, patients must have a medical marijuana card. To qualify, patients must be a state resident (with a few exceptions), be 18 or older, have no felony record, have a qualifying medical condition and have visited a licensed practitioner and received a written certification to use medical cannabis. In some cases, minors may be eligible to obtain a medical marijuana card with an appointed designated caregiver.
Perspective patients can find an authorized practitioner directory on the Office of Medical Cannabis website. As of Jan. 14, there were 432 practitioners listed in the state database.