Kentucky's sixth medical marijuana dispensary opens in Louisville – The Courier-Journal
Louisville’s first medical marijuana dispensary is now open.
Kentucky Alternative Care opened to the public Jan. 31 at 2401-B Bardstown Road, bringing medical cannabis to Louisville for the first time. It’s the state’s sixth dispensary to open, following others in Beaver Dam, Lexington and Frankfort.
Patrons were lined up outside the building hours ahead of its 8 a.m. opening. For owners Dustin Stanley and Su Kang, that was already a sign that the almost two years of preparation was worth it. Kang said the dispensary will help hundreds of Kentuckians who previously had to travel out of state for medical cannabis.
“They don’t have to go to Michigan, they don’t have to go to Ohio,” Kang said. “They can be right here in the neighborhood.”
Kenutcky is the 38th state to legalize medical cannabis, 30 years after California paved the way with the Compassionate Use Act.
“The wait is long and we’re finally here,” Kang said. “The country is ready for it.”
Kentucky’s medical cannabis is in its first year of having consumer products available on shelves after being legalized in the state just over a year ago on Jan. 1, 2025.
While recreational marijuana remains illegal in the commonwealth, medical marijuana, which is a prescribed product from a licensed physician containing THC — the psychoactive drug 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.
Gov. Andy Beshear said during a Jan. 30 news conference that more than 18,000 Kentuckians have been approved for medical cannabis cards as of Jan. 29. Stanley praised Beshear’s rollout of the medical cannabis system, saying Beshear did a “phenomenal job” in the structuring of Kentucky’s system.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Customers Krystal Scott and Shaun Roberts were lined up outside the dispensary at 4:30 a.m., huddled in grey jackets and Louisville Cardinals hats in the freezing cold. But for Roberts, it was worth it.
Roberts, who uses medical cannabis for neck pain after an injury, said he was glad to have a safe, legal way to purchase cannabis without leaving the state.
“We’ve waited for over a year for this process to happen,” Roberts said. “…We’re hoping that all of this can help our community, help Kentucky in general.”
Kentucky Alternative Care looks more like an Apple Store or high-end retailer than a dispensary. Long glass tables fill the brightly lit room, with stations for education on the different types of terpenes, the types of strains that give cannabis it’s sleepy or euphoric effect. Even its “menus” are printed like a wine list, while “budtenders” walk customers through the process and help them understand their needs to match them with the right strain.
Stanley and Kang said the atmosphere is very intentional — they’re bringing medical cannabis into the modern world and helping to fight the longtime stigma associated with the drug. Stanley said he hopes the increased prevalence of medical cannabis can help people with chronic illness and pain and help to fight the ongoing opioid epidemic.
“Everybody started to realize, oh my gosh, this actually works, it helps people,” Stanley said. “Thats our mission, it’s trying to help as many people as we possibly can.”
But providing clients with medical cannabis isn’t the only goal of the dispensary — they want to educate clients about the process and product. Tuesday Coughlin, the dispensary’s retail director with a decade in the industry, said education plays a vital roll in Kentucky Alternative Care’s process.
“We’re not a “stoner” brand, we’re a medicine brand,” Coughlin said. “We’re holistic and we are trying to open people’s minds that this is not something to fear or think down upon.”
Contact Business Reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@usatodayco.com or on X at @oliviamevans_.