Kentucky medical marijuana legalization bill takes big step, passes out of committee 15-1
2022 could be the year Kentucky legalizes medical marijuana if House Bill 136 continues its path through the legislature with solid Republican support.
The bill would legalize some forms of marijuana for medicinal uses in Kentucky, and passed the House judiciary committee with only one ‘no’ vote on Thursday night, 15-1. A similar bill passed the House in 2020, 65-30, but did not get taken up by a Senate committee for lack of caucus support and because of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sponsor Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville, carried the similar effort in 2020. He said that he’s confident it will become law this year, though leadership in the Senate has previously raised concerns about it. He expects a House floor vote on the legislation next week.
The legislation is quite “narrow,” per Nemes, who said that he worked with skeptical legislators between the 2020 session and today to make it more palatable to those who may have concerns.
Key regulations that make the bill more “narrow” than some other states that have legalized medical marijuana include provisions banning the smoking of marijuana and growing it yourself; a clause that bars “cross-pollination” between farmers, processors, dispensers and safety testers; as well as checks that ensure a physician-patient relationship is “bonafide,” per Nemes.
Nemes stressed that the bill would not necessarily increase the amount of marijuana consumed in Kentucky, but rather give people struggling with pain a place to safely purchase marijuana products.
“I don’t want a bunch of unsafe marijuana in Kentucky, but let’s not kid ourselves: we’re not going to bring marijuana to Kentucky; it’s here,” Nemes said.
Longtime legalization advocate Eric Crawford spoke from personal experience in support of the bill on Thursday. Crawford, a Maysville native, described the struggles of living as a paraplegic following a car accident involving an 1,800-pound cow landing on his head.
“Medical cannabis allows me to be a more productive member of society and gives me a better quality of life. It helps me be a better husband, son and friend,” Crawford said. “There’s not one of you on this committee that would think I’d be better off taking opioids.”
Co-sponsor Rep. Al Gentry, D-Louisville, also spoke from experience. As an amputee, he said that chronic pain is common. Some amputee friends of his, he said, were once addicted to opioids but used medical marijuana to kick the habit.
Nemes said that he and supporters like Crawford and Gentry have looked at three dozen states’ laws and “stolen” some portions that they believe are workable in Kentucky.
The bill allows medical marijuana to be prescribed for only four ailments: Epilepsy, Multiple Sclerosis, cancer, chronic debilitating pain.
That’s a score on which Nemes said the bill is more restrictive than he’d like. However, the bill is in the form it needs to be to pass, he said.
As for what’s changed to make him more confident it will get a Senate vote, Nemes said that lawmakers are taking note of constituent support.
A few months ago, a Gallup poll recorded U.S. support for marijuana legalization at 68%. A 2020 USA Today poll also reported that 59% of Kentuckians supported the measure.
“As people talk more to their constituents, they are more open to the issue,” Nemes said. “When they see many other states, including very conservative and southern states, adopt medical marijuana and that in the world doesn’t end, that opens eyes that weren’t open before.”
Nemes also acknowledged a new, and important, supporter who will play a key role in the legislative process: Sen. Whitney Westerfield, R-Crofton.
Chairman of the senate judiciary committee, Westerfield tweeted out a statement of support for House Bill 136 yesterday.
The only “no” vote for the bill to go out of committee was Rep. Kim Moser, R-Taylor Mill, who raised concerns about the amount of bureaucracy it would create as well as the prospect that it may not help people with certain illnesses like posttraumatic stress disorder.
Kentucky Democratic last month announced the introduction of the L.E.T.T.S. Grow Act, which would legalize cannabis for both medical and recreational use, but that has not been assigned to a committee.
