Kentucky’s city and county bans on medical marijuana businesses: determinants of mixed policy environments

Purpose This study aims to analyze local prohibitions on medical marijuana businesses in the state of Kentucky. Unique features of Kentucky’s law made it possible to examine whether city governments adopted their policies by passing an ordinance, conducting a voter referendum or waiting for the state or county law to become effective. Determinants of city-level policies and mixed policy environments, where the legality of businesses varied within the same county, were investigated. Design/methodology/approach Data on local marijuana policies implemented by January 1, 2025, were obtained from the Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis for 407 cities and 119 counties. Logistic regression models were used to estimate whether different policy approaches were associated with local demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Findings Cities with larger populations were more likely to enact opt-in ordinances, whereas voter referendums were more prevalent when cities did not have a commission form of government. There was some, albeit weaker, evidence that city marijuana policies were associated with local socioeconomic conditions. Mixed policy environments across cities were more common in counties with fewer Black residents and more religious adherents. Originality/value This paper identified factors associated with more permissive and proactive city approaches to an opt-out process, offering a more nuanced understanding than analyses on whether businesses were just banned or not. Kentucky’s law also allowed a county prohibition to be imposed upon an incorporated city unless that city enacted its own policy. This opt-out process was unique compared to early adopting states.