Sunnyside Medical Cannabis Dispensary holds its grand opening in Prestonsburg on Friday, October 23.
One clarification up front, so we don’t overstate it: this is the grand opening celebration — Sunnyside already opened the week of October 16, completing the set of licensed dispensaries in all 11 of Kentucky’s medical cannabis regions. KCFC covered that 11-of-11 milestone on October 16. This post is about what the Prestonsburg location means closer to home.
It means a lot in the Mountain Region. That region covers 18 relatively low-population counties, and as of October 2 it had fewer than 1,000 medical cannabis cardholders — out of more than 28,000 statewide. Sunnyside is the state’s 26th dispensary to open.
The distance mattered. Sunnyside’s regional director said people told her they hadn’t gotten their medical card because there wasn’t anywhere to go that wasn’t a drive to Lexington. Now, she said, the local response has been overwhelmingly positive, and people are moving through the process of getting their state medical card.
The dispensary sits off one of the larger roads in Prestonsburg, chosen with access in mind.
A few ground rules worth repeating for anyone new to the program: medical cannabis in Kentucky is available only to cardholders, and getting a card requires one of the state’s qualifying conditions, which include chronic pain and cancer. Recreational cannabis remains illegal in Kentucky, as does smoking marijuana. Under state law, all cannabis sold here must also be grown and tested here.
Medical progress is real — and it’s not enough
A dispensary in Prestonsburg is progress for patients who had to drive hours for legal access. It is not decriminalization.
Kentuckians still can’t legally possess cannabis without a medical card, and they still can’t grow a plant at home. That’s why KCFC keeps pushing for voters to decide: adults 21 and over possessing up to one ounce, and cultivating, harvesting, and storing up to five plants for personal use.
Medical access in all 11 regions shows the state can build a program. Now let Kentuckians vote on decriminalization.
Sign the petition and share it: change.org/LetKentuckyVote
Call your legislators: 1-800-372-7181 (Kentucky legislative message line)
Source: WEKU, “Eastern KY dispensary opening expands medical cannabis access to far reaches of state,” October 21, 2026.
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