The Lottery Was Rigged. Wait, Not Rigged—It Was Bought.

Last year, Kentucky hunters, farmers, and entrepreneurs sat up when the medical cannabis licenses were handed out.

Many folks had invested time, money, and hope, believing the state's lottery system meant a fair shot for local businesses.

We were wrong.

When the dust settled, the biggest prize, one of the two largest Tier 3 cultivator licenses, landed right in the lap of Chicago-based Cresco Labs, one of the largest cannabis companies in the nation. It wasn't a win; it was a hostile takeover of the process.

Scale Beats Spirit

When our governor and the state agency proudly tout an "industry leader" with a history of big investment, what they are really telling you is that scale beats spirit.

The whole process stinks of a deliberate workaround.

You had companies tied to Cresco forming more than 20 new LLCs, submitting a combined 128 applications (costing over $740,000 in fees), and flashing more than $20 million in capital.

Was it illegal? The administration says no.

But when local Kentucky hemp farmers, who already had the land, the greenhouses, and the know-how, are left with zero of the 16 cultivator licenses, something fundamentally failed.

We were promised a level playing field through a transparent lottery, but what we got was a system that allowed out-of-state giants to buy thousands of tickets, while small businesses could only afford a few.

The real kick in the teeth is watching the Governor stand beside the Cresco CEO, while questions about who actually owns the licenses are met with bureaucratic mumbling about "LLC within an LLC."

In fact, one of the key licenses is now owned by Cresco's own CEO. Interesting, right?

The question isn't whether Beshear's team broke rules; it's whether they designed a process that was engineered for the deep pockets of out-of-state corporations and set up local Kentuckians to fail.

Our farmers were ready to plant seeds this summer.

Now, we wait, while Chicago imports its product and our Auditor's office launches an investigation into the entire process.

Whose medical cannabis program is this, anyway?