The Kentucky governor says he can use an executive order if the medical cannabis law dies

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday he was considering what he might do to salvage a proposal to legalize medicinal cannabis that is currently languishing in the state General Assembly.

The first-term Democrat was asked by reporters “if he could potentially pass an executive order making medical marijuana accessible if the bill dies,” the Associated Press reported.

“We’re going to investigate,” Beshear said, as quoted by the news outlet. “It’s something we’re going to look at. His time has certainly come.”

Beshear’s comments came nearly a month after the Kentucky House of Representatives easily passed legislation that would legalize medicinal cannabis in the state for qualified patients.

This measure, sponsored by Republican House Representative Jason Nemes, would allow physicians to recommend cannabis treatment to patients with a variety of qualifying medical conditions, including cancer, chronic pain, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and nausea.

The law passed the House of Representatives, in which the GOP holds a large majority, by a vote of 59 to 34.

In his efforts to build support for the bill, Nemes spoke about his experiences speaking to patients and doctors.

“I will never forget that mother who leaned down and touched my hand. She told me what it meant to her child, and everyone walked around the room and said what it meant to them,” Nemes said. “And I thought there are good people here, really good people, and I don’t agree with them. So I started questioning it. I spoke to doctors and did a lot of research on this topic.”

But the bill went nowhere in the state Senate, which is also dominated by Republicans. It’s a nearly identical scenario to 2020, when the Kentucky state house passed a medical cannabis bill, only to have it thwarted in the state senate.

Robert Stivers, President of the Kentucky State Senate, was skeptical from the start and opposed the bill, saying lawmakers no longer have time to tackle legislation of this importance.

According to the Louisville Courier Journal, Stivers “remains opposed to the legalization of medical marijuana and says that while he has seen research showing that marijuana may have a beneficial effect on patients with spasticity, nausea and joint inflammation, these studies had only a small sample size and duration – while he has seen others with negative side effects.”

More recently, Stivers has expressed doubts that lawmakers will have enough time to get the law across the line when the assembly’s 60-day session ends.

According to the Associated Press, Stivers said Thursday “it would be difficult” to pass the bill when lawmakers return next week for the final two days of the legislative session.

The Associated Press reported that Stivers “touted another pending law that would create a cannabis research center at the University of Kentucky to study the use of cannabis to treat certain medical conditions.”

“Definitely, I think there’s this desire to help individuals,” Stivers said, as quoted by the Associated Press. “But with any drug, I think you have to have the full studies.”

“That would give us a push, maybe within a year, to come back and say marijuana could or could not be used for that,” Stivers added, according to the Associated Press.

Enter Beshear, who campaigned vigorously for the legalization of medicinal cannabis in Kentucky.

While Beshear suggested Thursday that he could resort to executive action on the matter, he again called on lawmakers to deliver a bill to his desk.

“You see people from all parts of every spectrum who are in favor,” Beshear said, as quoted by the Associated Press.