FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday that access to medical marijuana in Kentucky should be expanded to include a list of more serious health conditions once the program is launched. Hundreds of thousands more people advocated for changes to the treatment. It starts next year.
The bill passed by the Republican-led Congress in 2023 specifies that eligible conditions include cancer, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, epilepsy, chronic nausea, and post-traumatic stress disorder. .
Medical marijuana to be legalized in Kentucky after years of setbacks
The Democratic governor said the law should be expanded because it is built on “providing relief to Kentuckians with serious medical conditions.” He said the list of conditions covered includes ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, Parkinson's disease, Crohn's disease, sickle cell anemia, cachexia or wasting syndrome, neurological disorders, severe arthritis, hepatitis C, and fibromuscular disorders. He said it should be expanded to include pain disorders, muscular dystrophy, Huntington's disease and HIV. AIDS, glaucoma, terminal illness.
“This is a very important set,” Beshear said at his weekly press conference. “While this bill mentions some eligibility conditions, it excludes others.”
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear is proposing expanding the list of eligibility criteria for accessing medical marijuana.
He said the expansion would make an estimated 437,000 more Kentuckians eligible.
The governor noted that two advisory committees have recommended that lawmakers expand the list of symptoms to include these additional illnesses. One of them, hepatitis C, was recommended by only one of the groups, Beshear said.
The medical marijuana bill passed Congress after many years of rejection. Beshear quickly signed it into law last March, making it one of the bipartisan accomplishments of his first term. The governor was re-elected for a second term in November last year.
Supporters of the bill warned Thursday that any effort to expand the number of conditions covered could run into resistance in both chambers.
“This is our first step,” Republican Sen. Stephen West, the bill's lead sponsor, said in an interview. “Some people want to take the fifth step, but you have to walk before you can run.”
One of the most protracted debates last year revolved around what conditions would qualify, with lawmakers going “back and forth” until they reached an agreement, West said.
“If you start tinkering with the list of conditions that are covered, there will be a lot of confusion,” he said.
Another prominent supporter, Republican Rep. Jason Nemeth, agreed, saying, “I don't think now is the time to make those adjustments.” He said in a separate interview that the measure already includes language allowing “an opportunity to make adjustments where appropriate.”
“I think what we need to focus on right now is crossing all the T's and dotting all the I's,” Nemeth said.
To this end, Beshear announced that his administration has submitted the first batch of regulations governing the medical marijuana program. They provide a framework for how medical cannabis businesses (cultivators, processors, producers, dispensaries) operate and provide guidance on how to package, label, transport, promote, and test their products. he said.
“These regulations will ensure that Kentucky’s medical cannabis program is safe and accessible for all patients and safe for our communities,” the governor said.
Beshear said the administration is on track to launch the program in 2025.
Lawmakers plan to review these regulations and more. Additional rules on how Kentuckians can apply for medical marijuana business licenses are expected to be issued in the coming weeks and months, Beshear said.
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In another step toward implementation, the state launched a commercial zoning tool aimed at helping medical marijuana businesses determine whether a proposed location is legal. The law prohibits these businesses from standing within 300 feet of elementary schools, middle schools or day cares, and allows local governments to impose additional zoning restrictions.
Kentucky has joined the majority of other states in legalizing medical marijuana.
