News

Kentucky now has a medical cannabis dispensary in all 11 licensing regions. The state's own list counts one fewer store.

The short answer: Yes. Gov. Andy Beshear's office said Oct. 16, 2026, that medical cannabis is now available in all 11 of Kentucky's licensing regions, after Sunnyside opened in Prestonsburg. The release counts 26 operating dispensaries, but the state's own list showed 25 when we checked, and it gives a one-day-later open date.

The last gap on the map was the Mountain Region. It closed this week in Prestonsburg, but two of the state's own numbers don't quite agree.

By Monsaur OthmanPublished October 18, 2026Last updated October 18, 20265 sources linked

File photo: Front of the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort under a clear sky. Photo: Daderot / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (cropped) · CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication

What changed

On Oct 16, 2026, Gov. Andy Beshear announced medical cannabis is available in all 11 of Kentucky's dispensary licensing regions. Sources below

Gov. Andy Beshear's office said October 16 that medical cannabis is now available in all 11 of Kentucky's dispensary licensing regions, after Sunnyside Dispensary opened in Prestonsburg, Floyd County. It's the first dispensary in the Mountain Region (governor's release; also reported by WKYT and Marijuana Moment).

The numbers, and where they don't match

According to the release, the store opened Monday, October 12, after the Office of Medical Cannabis approved it on Friday, October 9, and Kentucky now has 26 operating dispensary facilities.

The Office of Medical Cannabis keeps its own public list (Find a Dispensary). As of October 14, and again when we checked late on October 18, it lists the Prestonsburg store, BSRKYAPP, LLC doing business as Sunnyside, at 81 Glynview Plaza (the release adds Suite 147), as "open since October 13, 2026." We counted 25 dispensaries on that list, one short of the governor's 26.

Neither gap changes the story. Both are worth knowing if you're tracking the market by the state's own figures: a one-day difference on the open date, and a one-store difference that could be a later opening or a counting choice. We're not guessing at the reason, and we'll update this if the state clarifies.

Where the program stands

The release puts the wider program at 46 medical cannabis businesses up and running, more than 500 registered medical cannabis practitioners and more than 28,000 Kentuckians approved for cards. Kentucky's law, Senate Bill 47, legalized medical cannabis starting January 1, 2025; the Office of Medical Cannabis began taking business applications July 1, 2024.

The Illinois angle

Kentucky is medical-only, and its stores are spread by licensing region. Illinois runs a different model. Its adult-use market is already statewide, and under SB 3222, signed in June, adult-use dispensaries there can opt in to serving medical patients, according to IDFPR.

Sources

More state rules: see our cannabis rules tracker.

Drafted with AI assistance from primary sources and reviewed by Monsaur Othman before publication. Read how we use AI, our editorial policy and our corrections policy.

For adults 21+. News and education only. Nothing here is a health claim or an offer to sell.

Key facts and where they come from

On Oct 16, 2026, Gov. Andy Beshear announced medical cannabis is available in all 11 of Kentucky's dispensary licensing regions. source 1 · source 2 · source 3
Sunnyside Dispensary in Prestonsburg, Floyd County, is the first dispensary in the Mountain Region; the release says it opened Monday, Oct 12, after Office of Medical Cannabis approval on Friday, Oct 9. source 1 · source 2
The state's dispensary page lists BSRKYAPP, LLC (DBA Sunnyside Prestonsburg), 81 Glynview Plaza, as open since October 13, 2026. source 1
The release says Kentucky has 26 operating dispensary facilities; the state's list as of Oct 14 shows 25 open dispensaries (our count). source 1 · source 2
The release says 46 medical cannabis businesses are operating, more than 500 practitioners are registered and more than 28,000 Kentuckians have been approved for cards. source 1
Senate Bill 47 legalized medical cannabis in Kentucky beginning Jan 1, 2025; the Office of Medical Cannabis began accepting business applications July 1, 2024. source 1