Courier Journal: Does Kentucky really grow more marijuana?
UC expert weighs in on claim that neighboring state grows the most marijuana
No one really knows how much marijuana is grown in Kentucky, as the crop is illegal, reports the Louisville Courier Journal.
Thus, the long-held belief – that marijuana is the states’ largest cash crop – cannot be validated.
Claims that the state is the top producer “puzzles” Bonnie Rabin, an adjunct professor with the Cannabis Certificate Program at the University of Cincinnati.
“Kentucky doesn’t allow marijuana cultivation, processing or retail, she said, so how could cannabis be the top cash crop?”, Rabin told the journal.
There might also be some confusion between cannabis and hemp, she says.
UC launched the certificate program in 2020. It is offered through the horticulture program in the College of Design, Art, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP)'s School of Planning as a response to an increasing need for knowledgeable graduates familiar with cannabis as the industry becomes more mainstream. It offers students a multi-disciplinary foundation for understanding the cannabis plant and the cannabis industry, enabling them to more readily gain employment in one of its many subfields.
Featured image at top courtesy of Unsplash.
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
UC hematology researcher to study bone complications in sickle cell disease
September 25, 2026
University of Cincinnati hematology researcher Jahnavi Gollamudi, MD, has received new grant funding to study how inflammation predicts bone complications in people with sickle cell disease, offering new hope for treatment.
UC partners join communitywide effort to improve outcomes for children and families
September 24, 2026
WLWT Channel 5 covered a signing agreement ceremony for the newly formed Hamilton County Child & Family Systems Partner Collaborative dedicated to working more efficiently together to reduce barriers for families, connect them with support early on and improve delivery of services. UC Corrections Institute and the Donald P. Klekamp College of Law are among the organizations part of the collaborative.
UC part of $18 million initiative to expand behavioral health workforce in Ohio
September 23, 2026
The University of Cincinnati is participating in a new $18 million statewide scholarship program, as Cleveland.com recently reported, to address critical shortages of mental health and substance use treatment providers across Ohio.