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⚖️ Reference material only. Always verify with your state regulator and your compliance / legal team before finalizing packaging.
KY Kentucky Medical Only
State Compliance Guide

Kentucky
Cannabis Packaging Requirements

Kentucky cannabis packaging is regulated by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), Office of Medical Cannabis. The market is medical only. Packaging must be child-resistant, must carry the state universal symbol, and must print 5 required warning statements. No pre-approval of artwork is required. Royal Supply last reviewed this guide against the regulation on September 1, 2026.

5Required Warnings
YesChild-Resistant
NoPre-Approval Needed
September 1, 2026Last Reviewed
Kentucky official universal cannabis symbol
Official artwork
01 — The Mark

Universal Symbol Requirements

Symbol Specifications

SymbolKentucky Universal Cannabis Symbol.
  • Rule name: Appendix A standardized symbol, dated January 4, 2024, incorporated by reference.
Minimum SizeNo state minimum size.
  • Rule asks only that the symbol be clear and conspicuous.
  • Print at 0.5 in / 12.7 mm or larger — Royal Supply floor, not a state rule.
Notes on this section — 1
  • The 1/16 inch figure often quoted here is the minimum height for label writing, not a symbol dimension.
ColorsNavy blue, as supplied by the state.
  • No contrast-based alternative version exists.
  • No hex, Pantone, CMYK or RGB build is published.
Notes on this section — 1
  • Reproduce the state artwork file; do not color-match by eye or accept a redrawn version from any vendor.
PlacementOn the product package, displayed clearly and conspicuously.
How To ObtainDownload the Appendix A artwork from kymedcan.ky.gov, Business Resources.
  • Use the state file as supplied; do not redraw it.
  • Also inspectable at CHFS, Office of the Secretary, 275 East Main Street, Frankfort, KY 40621, Mon-Fri 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Discloses that the product contains medicinal cannabis.

  • Required on all medicinal cannabis packaging.
  • Not a mark of lawful Kentucky-dispensary origin.

Official Files & Links

⬇KY OMC THC Symbol — Business Resources page

Design & Print Specs

Font Minimum1/16" min
Symbol ColorsAs issued by CHFS
CMYK / PMSAs issued by CHFS
PlacementProminent on all product packaging
Bold RequiredNo

Raw plant materials must be labeled 'not intended for consumption by smoking.'

02 — Say It Exactly

Warning Statements (5)

Statements marked Exact text required must be reproduced character for character — use the copy buttons. Those marked Required content are mandated by Kentucky in substance only; you write the sentence.

Product
Market
Format
Options
Your warning block 
—
See every statement individually, with citations6
Mandatory statements3
Kentucky prescribes this wording and requires it in bold. Do not paraphrase — dropping "by cardholders" widens the permitted-user population and is a substantive change.
Exact text required

Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), Office of Medical Cannabis prescribes this wording. Reproduce it character for character, including capitalization and punctuation.

For medicinal use by cardholders only. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN
Required whenever the package contains more than one serving.
Exact text required

Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), Office of Medical Cannabis prescribes this wording. Reproduce it character for character, including capitalization and punctuation.

MULTIPLE SERVINGS
Required only on raw plant material packaged for sale to a cardholder. It does not belong on edibles, concentrates or tinctures.
Exact text required

Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), Office of Medical Cannabis prescribes this wording. Reproduce it character for character, including capitalization and punctuation.

NOT INTENDED FOR CONSUMPTION BY SMOKING
Mandatory content, licensee wording2
Kentucky mandates the information, not the sentence. Do not set the regulation's own description of the duty into type — it is a rule heading, not label copy.
Required content — your wording

Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), Office of Medical Cannabis requires this information but does not fix the sentence. Write your own copy; the agency approves it.

State the typical time for the medicinal cannabis to take effect, in your own wording — for example: Effects may begin within [X] to [Y] minutes.
Required content — your wording

Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), Office of Medical Cannabis requires this information but does not fix the sentence. Write your own copy; the agency approves it.

Print the National Poison Control Center telephone number: 1-800-222-1222.
Royal Supply recommendation1
Kentucky does not require these lines and does not prohibit them. We keep them on the page because many customers print one label across several states and other markets do mandate this wording. Add or omit them freely for a Kentucky-only SKU.
Royal Supply recommended

Not required by Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), Office of Medical Cannabis. This is Royal Supply's own compliance-tested language, offered as good practice.

Do not drive or operate machinery while under the influence. Do not use during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
03 — The Fine Print

Packaging & Labeling Rules

Child-ResistantEvery retail package must be child-resistant and take two steps to open.
  • Child-resistant closure: initial opening requires at least a two-step process.
  • Must comply with the federal Poison Prevention Packaging Act — the rule cites 15 U.S.C. secs. 1471 to 1476 by name.
  • Tamper-evident seal required on every package.
  • Package must minimize the product's exposure to oxygen.
  • Package must protect the product against contamination.
  • Packaging may not impart any toxic or deleterious substance to the product.
Notes on this section — 1
  • The familiar "significantly difficult for children under five to open" standard is federal PPPA background, not Kentucky rule text.
915 KAR 1:100 Section 2(1) (15 U.S.C. secs. 1471 to 1476), 2(2)(a)-(c), (l), (m); Section 5(3)(a); KRS 218B.140(1)(c)13
LabelingKentucky sets a long, closed list — seventeen label items plus a set of package-level disclosures. Build the panel from the whole list, not from the warning statements alone.
  • Type: 1/16 inch minimum height for label writing.
  • That floor covers label writing only — it is not a symbol size.
  • Label stock must be weather-resistant and tamper-resistant, and legible.
  • Affix firmly to the package holding the cannabis, or to the outer packaging where outer packaging is used.
  • Label: strain and net weight of the cannabis in the package.
  • Label: ingredients.
  • Label: the specific amount of THC and CBD as stated on the certificate of analysis for that harvest or production batch.
  • Concentrates: state THC and CBD in milligrams AND by percentage.
  • Label: percentage of total terpenes, plus the most prevalent terpenes.
  • Concentrates: state terpenes in milligrams and by percentage.
  • Label: name and licence number of the cannabis business that cultivated the cannabis.
  • Label: name and licence number of the business that processed it, where applicable.
  • Label: the identifier unique to the harvest batch or production batch.
  • Label: date harvested or processed, and separately the date packaged.
  • Label: name and licence number of the safety compliance facility that tested it, and the date tested.
  • Label: expiration date.
  • Label: method of extraction, where applicable.
  • Label: directions for use for concentrates and THC-infused products.
  • Package: the name and licence number of the business that did the packaging.
  • Package: the strain, including whether it is sativa, indica or hybrid, and the form.
  • Package: the amount of cannabis the product is considered equivalent to, where applicable.
  • Package: any possible allergens.
  • A QR code is optional; where one is used, label it Specific Product Information directly above or below the code and size it to be smart-phone readable.
  • A QR code excuses only five items from the panel: the cultivator, processor and packager identities, the extraction method, and the packaging date.
  • Leave clear panel space for the dispensary's sticker — see the note below.
  • The dispensary's sticker carries its name, licence number and telephone number.
Notes on this section — 2
  • The dispensary sticker is required by Section 3(4). Leaving space for it is the design decision; applying it is not optional, so a panel with no room for it is a problem for the customer at retail.
  • A QR code substitutes for five listed items only. Everything else on the list prints on the label.
915 KAR 1:100 Section 2(2)(e)-(g), 2(2)(k); Section 3(1), 3(2)(a)-(q), 3(3)(a)-(c), 3(4)
THC SymbolPotency is stated differently by product form, and the state symbol goes on every package.
  • Edibles, oils and tinctures: total THC and total CBD, per serving and per package, in milligrams.
  • Concentrates and raw plant material: total THC, CBD and terpenes as percentages.
  • Concentrates on the label: THC, CBD and terpenes in milligrams and by percentage.
  • The state Appendix A symbol must appear clearly and conspicuously on the package.
  • Symbol size, color and artwork source: see the symbol panel.
915 KAR 1:100 Section 2(2)(e)1-2, 2(2)(i); Section 3(2)(e)-(f)
Health WarningsKentucky's required-statement list is short and closed; anything beyond it is your choice.
  • Every package: the typical time to take effect, in your own wording.
  • Every package, in bold: For medicinal use by cardholders only. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN
  • Packages holding more than one serving, in bold: MULTIPLE SERVINGS
  • Raw plant material only, in capitals: NOT INTENDED FOR CONSUMPTION BY SMOKING
  • Every package: the National Poison Control Center number, 1-800-222-1222.
  • Optional Royal Supply lines: driving impairment and pregnancy/breastfeeding, so one label runs across several states.
Notes on this section — 2
  • The number 1-800-222-1222 comes from OMC How-To Label guides dated January 13, 2025 — agency guidance, not codified text.
  • Kentucky neither requires nor forbids the driving and pregnancy lines.
915 KAR 1:100 Section 2(2)(d)1-3, 2(2)(n); Section 3(2)(o); KRS 218B.140
Serving SizeOral products carry a hard per-serving THC cap plus a serving breakdown on the package.
  • 10 mg THC maximum per serving for edibles, oils and tinctures.
  • Products for oral consumption as an edible, oil or tincture: state the number of individual servings in the package.
  • Same three forms: include a nutritional fact panel and the amount of THC per serving.
  • Those three items are scoped to oral edible, oil and tincture products — they are not general label fields.
Notes on this section — 2
  • The packaging rule sets no total-THC ceiling for a package.
  • Patient supply limits sit in a separate regulation, outside the scope of this page — do not read a per-package cap into the packaging rule.
915 KAR 1:100 Section 3(2)(p)-(q)
Opaque PackagingPackaging must be opaque, and transfer packaging must hide the product entirely.
  • Retail packaging: light-resistant and opaque.
  • Business-to-business transfer packaging: fully enclose the product so it cannot be seen from outside.
Notes on this section — 1
  • Opacity is backed at statute level, not by the packaging regulation alone.
915 KAR 1:100 Section 2(2)(h), Section 4(1)(a)1; KRS 218B.140(1)(c)13
ResealableTamper evidence and resealability are two separate duties — a single-use format is not automatically out.
  • Every retail package must be tamper-evident and sealed.
  • Resealable closure required only where resealing fits the format.
  • Single-use and single-serve formats are not forced to reseal.
  • The original seal may be broken only for safety-compliance-facility testing, dispensary display to cardholders, or a cabinet inspection.
915 KAR 1:100 Section 2(2)(b), 2(2)(j); Section 1(2)(a)-(c)
Notable RulesKentucky bans packaging that could appeal to minors or imply state endorsement, and offers an optional pre-market package review.
  • Prohibited: packaging resembling trademarked, characteristic or product-specialized food or beverage packaging, or anything visually reminiscent of a major edible non-cannabis brand.
  • Prohibited: any statement, artwork or design that could reasonably lead someone to believe the package holds something other than medicinal cannabis.
  • Prohibited: cartoon characters.
  • Prohibited: any image, graphic or feature that may make the package attractive to minors.
  • Prohibited: the cabinet's logo, or any seal, flag, crest, coat of arms or other insignia suggesting official endorsement.
  • Raw plant material must carry the not-intended-for-smoking statement, in capitals.
  • Optional package review: $200 nonrefundable per product, 21-calendar-day turnaround.
Notes on this section — 5
  • Color is not named in the rule. A candy-like palette reaches the ban only through the attractive-to-minors catch-all — a review risk, not a listed ban.
  • A review determination covers only the exact package and label submitted.
  • The rule took effect August 28, 2024 (50 Ky.R. 1842, 2450; 51 Ky.R. 315) and no amendment is pending. The HISTORY note carries no expiration date; any 2031 sunset comes from the general seven-year rule in KRS Chapter 13A, not from 915 KAR 1:100 itself.
  • Market note, not a packaging rule: EO 2026-361 (effective July 1, 2026) rescinded EO 2022-798, so a cardholder buying out of state loses the conditional-pardon protection. Nothing about how a package is built or labeled changes.
  • The Appendix A symbol discloses medicinal cannabis content only — it is not proof of lawful Kentucky-dispensary origin.
915 KAR 1:100 Section 1(1), 1(2), 2(2)(d)3, 5(2)-(7), 6; HISTORY note; EO 2026-361 rescinding EO 2022-798
04 — Quick Answers

Kentucky Packaging FAQ

What universal symbol is required on cannabis packaging in Kentucky?
Kentucky requires the Kentucky Universal Cannabis Symbol. Rule name: Appendix A standardized symbol, dated January 4, 2024, incorporated by reference.. Minimum size: No state minimum size. Rule asks only that the symbol be clear and conspicuous. Print at 0.5 in / 12.7 mm or larger — Royal Supply floor, not a state rule.. Placement: On the product package, displayed clearly and conspicuously..
Is child-resistant packaging required in Kentucky?
Every retail package must be child-resistant and take two steps to open. Child-resistant closure: initial opening requires at least a two-step process. Must comply with the federal Poison Prevention Packaging Act — the rule cites 15 U.S.C. secs. 1471 to 1476 by name. Tamper-evident seal required on every package. Package must minimize the product's exposure to oxygen. Package must protect the product against contamination. Packaging may not impart any toxic or deleterious substance to the product.
What warning statements are required on Kentucky cannabis packaging?
Kentucky prescribes exact wording for 3 warning statement(s) and requires a further 2 by content, where the licensee writes the sentence. Both are set out on this page.
05 — Receipts

Sources & Citations

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Reference material only — not legal advice. Verify all requirements with Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), Office of Medical Cannabis and your compliance / legal team before production.
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