"Exceeded our expectation" | Louisville's first medical marijuana dispensary grand opening draws lines – whas11.com
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville’s first medical marijuana dispensary opened its doors for business, Saturday. The business, Kentucky Alternative Care (KAC) is along Bardstown Road, where Dorothy and Wrocklage Avenues connect.
“It’s been amazing,” said co-founder Dustin Stanley on opening day. “It’s exceeded our expectation. We got here at 6 in the morning to start getting things set up and ready and there were people camping out. they’d started at 4:30.”
Hours after opening, the building was full of new customers and busy employees. For co-owners, Su Kang and Dustin Stanley, the opening has been a long-time coming.
“I think being first is just as important, but I think serving the community is just as important,” Kang said. “Jefferson County, Kentucky deserves [this].”
They commented on the time that’s gone by since legalization began in the nation. The legalization of medical marijuana in Kentucky went into effect a little over a year ago. Since then, the Post Dispensary opened in Beaver Dam in December 2025. This business became the first dispensary to open in the state. They ran out of product in the first week of business.
Kang and Stanley said their employees educate customers on the best product for their particular pain or ailment. Brooke Mascagni works to do just that.
“I actually wrote my dissertation on marijuana legalization in California and I moved back [to Louisville] and I was like, ‘How can I actually use my skills?’,” Mascagni said. “Now I’m here at the first dispensary in Louisville so it’s pretty cool.”
Customer, Trish Howard finds products to treat her chronic back pain.
“I’ve been going to Ohio and getting it and so now, it’s like right down the street from me,” Howard said. “It’s a lot better than an hour and a half up and an hour and a half back.”
Howard said she has also taken the four hour trip to Illinois. Howard said the prices at the new dispensary in Louisville are a bit more expensive, but the location saves her travel time and from taking other pain killers like opioids.
“It definitely works and I’d much rather that than like I said, having to take something that’s so much stronger I can’t drive that kind of thing,” Howard said.
KAC hopes their work helps people treat their issues so they can continue to live their lives and that they’re making a mark in the fight against the opioid crisis.
KAC is open Tuesday through Sunday from 8am-8pm. Kang and Stanley said they don’t plan on running out of their inventory any time soon.