The Kentucky Senate passes legislation legalizing medical marijuana

The Kentucky Senate on Thursday passed legislation legalizing medical marijuana after years of work by lawmakers and activists. The Senate approved the measure, Senate Bill 47, with a bipartisan vote of 26-11. The legislation now goes to the state House of Representatives, where similar bills legalizing medical marijuana have passed twice in the past few years.

Republican Senator Stephen West, a key sponsor of the bill, who has campaigned for the legalization of medical marijuana in Kentucky for five years, said the legislation will give patients with serious medical conditions new treatment options.

“It’s time for Kentucky to join the other 37 states in allowing medical marijuana as an option for their citizens,” West said, adding that those who use cannabis medicinally should be able to do so “without being considered criminals.” become”.

If passed, Senate Bill would allow 47 patients ages 18 and older with certain qualifying medical conditions, including cancer, chronic pain, epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder, to seek a physician’s recommendation for medical marijuana use. The new Kentucky Center for Cannabis at the University of Kentucky, which opened last September, may add additional qualifying terms if it determines through data and research that patients with the condition are “likely to derive medical, therapeutic, or palliative benefits.” the use of medicinal cannabis.”

The law does not allow patients to smoke cannabis, although it does allow the sale of raw cannabis flower for vaporization. Other cannabis formulations, including capsules, tinctures, and topical products, are also permitted under the bill.

Draft law includes provisions on Medicinal Cannabis Regulation

SB 47 mandates the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services to draft and implement regulations to enact legislation and regulate the production and sale of medical marijuana in the state. The legislation contains no provisions allowing patients to grow medical marijuana at home.

Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer was one of eight senators on the Senate Committee on Licenses and Professions who voted March 14 to advance Senate Bill 47. Issue develops after hearing testimonies from constituents. He told his colleagues on the committee that he voted “for those who suffer.”

“It’s not often that I change my mind,” Thayer said after the committee voted to move the bill forward. “I did it with industrial hemp and I did it with medical marijuana today. I’m just trying to be a little more empathetic as I get older.”

Senate Bill 47 now goes to the Kentucky House of Representatives, where lawmakers have twice approved previous measures legalizing medical marijuana since 2020. If passed by the entire legislature, the bill will be sent to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who has repeatedly called for state legislatures to pass a medical marijuana law.

In June 2022, the governor announced that he would establish a Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee to explore creating a path to legalization. In November, Beshear issued an executive order decriminalizing medical marijuana for patients with certain qualifying conditions. And in January, he reiterated his call for state lawmakers to send him legislation legalizing medical marijuana in 2023.

Eric Crawford, an activist who has campaigned for the legalization of medical marijuana in Kentucky for a decade, shared his surprise after Thursday’s Senate vote.

“I’m shocked,” Crawford said. “Now it’s time for the house.”

Under the bill, Kentucky’s medicinal cannabis program would start by January 2025. Crawford, who was paralyzed in a car accident 30 years ago, says cannabis is the only drug that effectively treats the pain and muscle spasms he suffers as a result of the injury. Though he has almost two years before Senate Bill 47 goes into effect, Crawford said he understands the delay.

“I thought it was going to take so long to set up the system, which we didn’t have,” Crawford said. “Yes, it’s a long, hard wait, but I’ll do what I have to do.”