State accepting applications for medical-cannabis licensing lottery and prescribing authority; patient cards not available until Jan. 1

Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Middletown, and Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris,
discussed medical cannabis legislation before a committee in March.
(Photo by Legislative Research Commission Public Information)

By Sarah Ladd
Kentucky Lantern

Kentuckians can now begin applying for a cannabis business license, and medical providers can apply to the state Board of Medical Licensure and Board of Nursing for authority to write cannabis prescriptions.

This is thanks to a bipartisan House Bill 829 that became law during this year’s legislative session and moved up the medical cannabis timeline from January 2025 to July 1. In 2023, the legislature legalized medical marijuana for Kentuckians suffering from specified chronic illnesses.

Patients who qualify — with a history of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), cancer or other approved medical conditions — still won’t be able to apply for cannabis cards until Jan. 1.

Applications for dispensers and cultivators will remain open until Aug. 31. A limited number of licenses will be awarded, and winners will be chosen in a regional lottery system. The state will award 48 licenses to dispensaries in 11 regions, 10 to processors and 16 to cultivators.

Lottery winners are expected to be announced in October, Gov. Andy Beshear has said. Filling the applications via lottery, Beshear said in April, is a way to keep the process more equitable.

“It creates a more fair process,” he said. “Not one where people bid against each other and only then the big companies can be a part of it.”

Applicants will be required to pay an application fee and provide documentation including business history, operating plans and financial information.

“The program is focused on ensuring cannabis business licensing is fair, transparent and customer-service oriented,” Sam Flynn, executive director of the Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis, said in a statement.

Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Middletown, the primary sponsor of HB 829, said the new timeline is “the culmination of a long effort to provide for the safe use of medical marijuana to provide relief to Kentuckians suffering from pain and disease.”

“We’re taking the regulatory process seriously,” Nemes said, “and looking forward to seeing it move forward.”

For more information on applying, visit this website.

Cannabis users are at increased risk of severe Covid, study finds

Intensive care (Photo by Matt Miller, Washington University)

Kentucky Health News

Use of cannabis, commonly called marijuana, is linked to increased risk of serious illness for those with Covid-19. So says a study in the American Medical Association journal JAMA Network Open by researchers at the Washington University in St. Louis.

“There’s this sense among the public that cannabis is safe to use, that it’s not as bad for your health as smoking or drinking, that it may even be good for you,” Dr. Li-Shiun Chen, a professor of psychiatry and senior author of the study, said in a university news release.

“I think that’s because there hasn’t been as much research on the health effects of cannabis as compared to tobacco or alcohol. What we found is that cannabis use is not harmless in the context of Covid-19. People who reported . . . current cannabis use, at any frequency, were more likely to require hospitalization and intensive care than those who did not use cannabis.”

Cannabis use differed from tobacco smoking in one key measurement: survival. While smokers were significantly more likely to die of Covid-19 than nonsmokers — a finding that fits with numerous other studies — the same was not true of cannabis users, the news release said.

“The independent effect of cannabis is similar to the independent effect of tobacco regarding the risk of hospitalization and intensive care,” Chen said. “For the risk of death, tobacco risk is clear but more evidence is needed for cannabis.”

The researchers analyzed the health records of 72,501 people seen for Covid-19 at BJC HealthCare hospitals and clinics in Missouri and Illinois during the first two years of the pandemic. They "found that people who reported using any form of cannabis at least once in the year before developing Covid-19 were significantly more likely to need hospitalization and intensive care than were people with no such history," the release says. "This elevated risk of severe illness was on par with that from smoking."

The records contained demographic characteristics; medical conditions; use of substances including tobacco, alcohol, cannabis and vaping; and hospitalization, admittance to an intensive-care unit, and survival.

"Covid-19 patients who reported that they had used cannabis in the previous year were 80% more likely to be hospitalized and 27% more likely to be admitted to the ICU than patients who had not used cannabis, after taking into account tobacco smoking, vaccination, other health conditions, date of diagnosis, and demographic factors," the release says. "For comparison, tobacco smokers with Covid-19 were 72% more likely to be hospitalized and 22% more likely to require intensive care than were nonsmokers, after adjusting for other factors. These results contradict some other research suggesting that cannabis may help the body fight off viral diseases such as Covid-19.

Chen said, “Most of the evidence suggesting that cannabis is good for you comes from studies in cells or animals. The advantage of our study is that it is in people and uses real-world health-care data collected across multiple sites over an extended time period. All the outcomes were verified: hospitalization, ICU stay, death. Using this data set, we were able to confirm the well-established effects of smoking, which suggests that the data are reliable.”

The release says, "The study was not designed to answer the question of why cannabis use might make Covid-19 worse. One possibility is that inhaling marijuana smoke injures delicate lung tissue and makes it more vulnerable to infection, in much the same way that tobacco smoke causes lung damage that puts people at risk of pneumonia, the researchers said. That isn’t to say that taking edibles would be safer than smoking joints. It is also possible that cannabis, which is known to suppress the immune system, undermines the body’s ability to fight off viral infections no matter how it is consumed, the researchers noted."

“We just don’t know whether edibles are safer,” said first author Nicholas Griffith, MD, a medical resident at Washington University, who was a medical student therev when he led the study. “People were asked a yes-or-no question: ‘Have you used cannabis in the past year?’ That gave us enough information to establish that if you use cannabis, your health-care journey will be different, but we can’t know how much cannabis you have to use, or whether it makes a difference whether you smoke it or eat edibles. Those are questions we’d really like the answers to. I hope this study opens the door to more research on the health effects of cannabis.”

Lottery system will determine who gets 48 licenses for retailers and 10 for processors of medical cannabis in 11 Kentucky regions

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

Gov. Andy Beshear gave an update on the medical cannabis licensing program Thursday, after signing this year's medical cannabis bill into law the day before.

"We have worked hard to create a safe system that limits or eliminates abuse while still providing relief to that veteran suffering from PTSD or individual suffering from unbearable epileptic seizure after epileptic seizure," Beshear said during his weekly news conference.

Rep. Jason Nemes presents Senate changes to HB 829
on the House floor Monday, April 15. (Legislative photo)

House Bill 829, sponsored by Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Middletown, has been described as a "clean-up" bill for Senate Bill 47, the measure that legalized medical cannabis during the 2023 session under the sponsorship of Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris. 

"In essence, all 829 does is set up the Office of Medical Cannabis and carries out the provisions of SB 47 as was passed last year," West said while presenting the bill on the Senate floor.

The final version of HB 829 will allow Kentucky to start issuing medical cannabis licenses to businesses in July in hopes that the product will be available to dispensaries in January 2025, when the program is set to go into effect. 

“It does allow these businesses — the growers especially — to get up and running, start growing product so there's actually something there to sell January 1,” West explained at the April 12 meeting of the Senate State and Local Government Committee.

It also allows cities to opt out of the medical cannabis program before Jan. 1, 2025, even if a licensee has been approved before that date. 

"Cities and counties have the opportunity to take a local vote. They can also pass ordinances that prohibit implementation," West said while presenting the bill on the Senate floor. "If someone is licensed before that time, it's buyer beware; they will have to take that into account as they apply for the license."

On Thursday, April 18, Beshear and Sam Flynn, executive director of the Kentucky Medical Cannabis Program in the state health cabinet described how the licensing would work under a regulation filed that day.

The new regulation will allow businesses to apply for a cannabis business license from July 1 through Aug. 31. Beshear said 10 licenses will be available across the state for processors, and 48 for dispensaries, the retail outlets. All their cannabis must be cultivated, processed and produced in Kentucky.

Flynn said the program has created 11 licensing regions to ensure Kentuckians with qualifying conditions have access to the product.

Beshear also announced that the state, in partnership with the Kentucky Lottery Corp., will issue the medical cannabis licenses using a lottery system. The first lottery will be held in October.

"This is what states are moving towards," said Beshear. "It reduces or eliminates litigation and it creates a more fair process, not one where people bid against each other and only then the big companies can be a part of it, but one that provides at least a chance for everyone who can meet the criteria." 

Flynn said the licensing process is designed to ensure that the industry is "stable and sustainable" with a focus on "small business" and meeting demand from people who have cards enabling them to buy medical cannabis.  

And, he said, each region will have at least four dispensary licenses available per region, with no more than one dispensary located in each county, with the exception of the state's two largest counties - Jefferson and Fayette - which are allowed two each. 

HB 829 also allows public and private schools to opt out of the program and requires public school boards to establish medical-cannabis policies by Dec. 1. The policies must prohibit the use of medicinal cannabis on school property, or allow use with several options for administration.

The legislature did not expand the list of conditions that would make Kentucky residents eligible for medical cannabis beyond what was allowed in HB 47. In January, Beshear asked lawmakers to add 15 more medical conditions to the list, and West filed a bill to increase the list from seven to 21 conditions. West's SB 337 died in its assigned Senate committee, having never been called up for a hearing. 

The eligible conditions in the current law, passed by the legislature in 2023, are cancer, multiple sclerosis, muscle spasms or spasticity, chronic pain, epilepsy, chronic nausea and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Medical-cannabis 'cleanup' bill passes House; critics disappointed more qualifying conditions not added and say it increases hurdles

By Melissa Patrick

Kentucky Health News

In what the sponsor calls a bill to "clean some things up," more restrictions are being added to the state's medical-marijuana law and provisions were added to allow local school districts to opt out.

State Rep. Jason Nemes

One of the key provisions in House Bill 829, sponsored by Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Middletown, would allow public and private schools to opt out of the program.

Public school boards are required to establish policies related to the use of medical cannabis no later than Dec. 1, 2024. The policies must either prohibit the use of medicinal cannabis on school property, or permit the use with several options for administration, as outlined in the bill. 

The measure would also allow local governments to apply a small local fee to compensate for any additional costs caused by the operation of cannabis businesses; prioritize Kentucky hemp businesses for state contracting; and clarify the powers that the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services has when it comes to inspection. 

It would also abolish the provisional license, which allows someone who makes an application for a license to sell medical marijuana to get the product while the application is pending. Nemes said this "put the cart before the horse."

When the House passed the bill 66-30 on March 12, it allowed the state to move the dates up for licensing, which would allow product to be obtained when the program starts Jan. 1, 2025. 

A floor amendment, filed at the request of the Kentucky League of Cities, was approved to allow cities to be able to opt out of the medical cannabis program before Jan. 1, 2025, even if a licensee had been approved before that date.

The committee substitute for the bill would require a patient to consult with a pharmacist annually to make sure the medical cannabis does not have a negative interaction with the patient's other prescriptions.

That  prompted several Democrats to object in the floor debate, saying the new requirement , with a potential cost of up to $40, imposes another hurdle in accessing medical cannabis.

"It seems like we're adding even more hurdles to make this medicine harder to receive, more expensive for folks to access. . . . I really wish we were back here today to make this medicine more accessible to the people of Kentucky who have been asking us to do this for years," said Rep. Rachel Roberts, D-Newport. 

Rep. Rachel Roarx, D-Louisville, said allowing public school districts to opt out "puts barriers in place" for students who benefit from medical cannabis for conditions such as epilepsy. 

Rep. Josh Bray, R-Mount Vernon, disagreed and supported the opt-out provision for schools, saying that he recognizes the need for this because some schools are concerned about the liability of administering a drug that is not authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.  

Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson, D-Lexington, said she was disappointed that the bill wouldn't expand the list of qualifying conditions that could be treated with medical cannabis, as was recommended by at "statutory advisory board of doctors and nurses appointed by the state licensing boards."

Stevenson said she hoped these conditions would be added in the Senate, where the bill has not been assigned to a committee.

Impact of cannabis use during pregnancy is the focus of UK Cannabis Center's next online seminar, to be held Feb. 26

Kelly Young-Wolff (Tyson School of Medicine photo)

The University of Kentucky Cannabis Center is sponsoring an online seminar titled  “Cannabis Use During Pregnancy: Research from Policy to Practice" on Feb. 26. The seminar will be held via Zoom from 2-3 p.m.  Click here to register. 

The seminar is part of the center's series featuring national and international experts on cannabis science, according to a news release.  

It will feature the work of  Kelly Young-Wolff, a licensed clinical psychologist and research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research. She is an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, a consulting assistant professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and a professor at the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine.

Young-Wolff’s research focuses on substance use, focusing specifically on cannabis use among pregnant persons and the impact of changes in local, state and national policy.

“We are honored for Dr. Young-Wolff to share her scientific expertise with our research community here at UK,” said Shanna Babalonis, UK Cannabis Center director. “As the cannabis landscape continues to change in Kentucky and the country, it is critically important to have valuable insights on beneficial health effects and associated risks. We look forward to learning more about Dr. Young-Wolff’s contributions to this field and to better understand the impact of prenatal exposure to cannabis.”

The UK Cannabis Center, based in the UK College of Medicine’s Center on Drug and Alcohol Research, conducts research on the health effects of cannabis, including its risks and benefits when used to treat certain medical conditions. It was established in 2022 by the General Assembly.  Click here to learn more about upcoming events from the UK Cannabis Center.

Marijuana is often used during pregnancy, but it can get the child off to a lower-than-average start on development and health

Image from Nexstar Media

Users and sellers of marijuana may suggest that expectant mothers use it to alleviate side effects of pregnancy, especially morning sickness, and research has found that it is the drug most commonly used during pregnancy. But other research increasingly shows "adverse outcomes for children when cannabinoids are consumed during pregnancy," says a study published in Frontiers in Pediatrics.

"Even with marijuana use limited to the first trimester of pregnancy, we demonstrate a noteworthy average reduction in birth weight of over 150 grams," more than 5 ounces, said Dr. Beth Bailey, director of population health research at Central Michigan University and senior author of the study. "Furthermore, if marijuana use persisted into the second trimester, a significant decrease in newborn head circumference was observed."

That matters, said Dr. Phoebe Dodge, the study's first author: "Newborn size serves as a robust indicator of future child health and development."

Other studies "have provided compelling evidence regarding the substantial impact of cannabis use on newborn size," the journal reports. "The most pronounced deficits in size were observed among infants exposed to marijuana throughout the entire gestational period," Bailey said. "Infants exposed to cannabis throughout pregnancy exhibited a reduction in birth weight of approximately 200 grams and a decrease in head circumference of nearly 1 centimeter," just under 0.4 inch.

"The research revealed that even occasional use, such as for managing first-trimester morning sickness, can lead to reduced fetal growth similar to the effects seen with continued cannabis use throughout pregnancy," the journal reports. 

That said, the study authors didn't know just how much or how often the participants used marijuana, just whether or not they did at all So, they could not "establish a direct correlation between heavy cannabis use and more pronounced outcomes in newborn growth," the journal reported.

But Dodge emphasized, "The best course of action is for women to be advised to cease marijuana use prior to conception." If you're already become pregnant, "The second-best option is to quit as soon as possible in order to mitigate potential long-term adverse health and developmental consequences."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more information.

UK's new Cannabis Center funds four research studies; two will look at marijuana use by pregnant women and cancer patients

UK faculty with cannabis research grants (clockwise from top left): Kristin Ashford, Jay Christian, Jayani Jayawardhana and Caroline Weber. (Photos provided)

By Lindsay Travis

University of Kentucky

Kentucky's recently established center for cannabis research has awarded its first set of faculty pilot grants to support innovative and collaborative cannabis research.

The University of Kentucky Cannabis Center conducts research on the health effects of cannabis, including its risks and benefits when used to treat certain medical conditions. The state leguislature established it just over a year ago, and gave it $2 million through June 2024.

The researchers are in the College of Nursing, College of Public Health, College of Pharmacy and the Martin School of Public Policy and Administration. Awards of $75,000 to $100,000 will fund studies for 14 months.

“We are excited for this opportunity to expand and accelerate cannabis science at UK and conduct studies focused on the public health impacts of cannabis that can directly affect the lives of Kentuckians,” said Shanna Babalonis, Ph.D., director of the Cannabis Center. “We have talented and dedicated researchers across a range of disciplines right here on campus who can contribute meaningful science to the center from multiple perspectives.”

The research will help educate medical providers, legislators and citizens on the risks and benefits of the use of cannabis and cannabinoids as Kentucky implements new medical marijuana legislation. Here are details on the projects:

Perinatal Cannabis: Perceptions, Use Patterns and Policy Implications: Kristin Ashford, associate dean of undergraduate programs and policy, the Good Samaritan Endowed Chair for Community Nursing, and director of the Perinatal Research and Wellness Center, will examine cannabis use during pregnancy.

As cannabis use increases, it places mothers and fetuses at risk for complications as well as long-term developmental harm for infants. Ashford will study the perceptions of safety and acceptability for cannabis use among pregnant women over the last five years in Central Kentucky.

“We want to know what pregnant women think, feel and do when it comes to using cannabis, in order to give our legislators, health care providers and expectant mothers a better understanding of how to improve the health of women and children in Kentucky,” said Ashford.

Population-based Survey of Cannabis Use among Cancer Patients in Kentucky: Jay Christian, an associate professor in the public-health college's Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, will explore cannabis use among Kentucky cancer patients and survivors.

Through a survey of users, Christian aims to better understand the prevalence of cannabis use, which methods patients are using (smoking, vaping, eating), and how they are obtaining it. His research team is also interested in learning which symptoms patients are treating with cannabis and how effective they find it.

“Cannabis laws around the country, including in Kentucky, are changing rapidly,” said Christian. “To determine the effect of legal medical cannabis, it’s important to know how people have been using it both before and after the law changes. This study is a first step in helping us to assess the effects of Kentucky’s new medical cannabis law on cancer patients and survivors.”

Christian is teaming up with researchers at the Patient-Oriented and Population Sciences Shared Resource Facility at the UK Markey Cancer Center, UK Radiation Oncology and the departments of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences for the project, along with experts at the Kentucky Cancer Registry.

Impact of Cannabis Laws on Opioid and Benzodiazepine Prescriptions and Associated Health Outcomes in Older Adults: “Cannabis use among older adults is increasing at a faster pace due to the legalization of medical and recreational cannabis by various states, and there is suggested evidence of substitutional effects of cannabis for the treatment of chronic pain and anxiety,” said Jayani Jayawardhana, an associate professor in the public-health college's Department of Health Management and Policy.

Opioids and benzodiazepines are commonly prescribed medications for chronic pain, anxiety and sleep disorders, which are more prevalent among older adults.

Jayawardhana’s study will ultimately help inform the varying effects of different types of cannabis laws on the effectiveness in reducing those specific prescriptions and associated adverse health outcomes, like opioid use disorder or benzodiazepine use disorder.

Her team of researchers in the College of Pharmacy will also track various demographic characteristics to understand who is preferentially affected by different types of cannabis laws.

The Evolution of Cannabis Consumption: Evidence from Traffic Fatalities: Caroline Weber, an associate professor in the Martin School, will study the changes in cannabis use by examining traffic-fatality records.

“The rapid expansion of recreational cannabis access in the U.S. has drastically increased legal recreational cannabis consumption,” said Weber. “However, increased legal consumption likely coincides with a decrease in black-market and medical cannabis; hence, it's theoretically ambiguous how much overall cannabis consumption has changed.”

Weber will construct a proxy for cannabis consumption using blood-THC tests in traffic-fatality records and compare this measure with existing usage measures. Her team will then use their new proxy to more precisely estimate consumption changes in response to recreational and medical cannabis legalization.

Bill to legalize medical marijuana for some in 2025 becomes law

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear shows his signature on the cannabis bill to state Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris, as legislators of both parties and others look on. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

After years of failed attempts, on the last day of the 2023 legislative session legislators passed a bill to legalize medical marijuana for people meeting certain qualifications in 2025, and Gov. Andy Beshear quickly signed it into law.

"Senate Bill 47 is probably one of the most vetted bills in the history of the General Assembly, going through numerous committees, being worked and reworked numerous times," bill sponsor Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris, said at the bill signing. "And I'm proud to be a part of that effort." 

House Majority Whip Jason Nemes, R-Louisville, who carried this bill for many years in the House, said he was "filled with emotion" as he noted the thousands of Kentuckians who will benefit from this bill. 

"We walk through the hallway --  Senator West, as you know -- in Frankfort and we hear so many people who whisper to us  'Please fight for us' because they don't want to be felons, they want to do right," he said. "This is such a good bill because there will be tens of thousands of Kentuckians who will never know our names, who will never walk these halls but will be helped. And so I'm happy to have played a small part in that. When the governor signs this bill and it becomes law -- what a glorious day it is." 

Eric Crawford, a longtime medical marijuana advocate, expressed a similar sentiment at a House committee that was held on the same day that it passed out of the House. 

“We need your help to make us be safer, so we don’t have to use all these pharmaceuticals and opioids," he said. “Help us not be criminals. Let’s legalize this for sick people.”

Senate Bill 47 passed the Senate 26-11 on March 16 and the House 66-33 on March 30.

The passage of SB 47 follows executive action taken last year by Beshear to use his pardon power to allow people with 21 specified medical conditions and a doctor's certificate to possess up to eight ounces of marijuana bought legally in another state. (Illinois is the only adjoining state where nonresidents can legally buy cannabis.)

The bill gives the Cabinet for Health and Family Services until January 2025 to get a medical marijuana up and running. 

It does not allow medical marijuana to be smoked and requires users to be 18 or older or be a caretaker for a child.

It also only allows it to be used by people with certain "qualifying medical conditions," including all cancers regardless of the stage; chronic, severe, intractable or debilitating pain; epilepsy or any other tractable seizure disorder; multiple sclerosis, muscle spasms or spasticity; chronic nausea or cyclical vomiting syndrome that has proven resistant to other conventional medical treatments; post-traumatic stress disorder; and any other medical condition or disease for which the new Kentucky Center for Cannabis Research at the University of Kentucky determines would benefit from medicinal marijuana.

At least 37 states in the United States have already legalized medical marijuana. 

West and Nemes have stressed that the delayed effective date allows the law to be revised in the next legislative session before the program begins. One issue they have promised to address is to make it clear that schools can prohibit employees, including school nurses, from administering the product to students. 

Beshear gets bill to regulate Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol

UPDATE, March 23: Gov. Andy Beshear has signed the bill into law.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention photo

By Melissa Patrick

Kentucky Health News

In response to a court decision that deemed products containing Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol to be legal, a bill to regulate products with the substance has passed both houses of the General Assembly without dissent and has gone to Gov. Andy Beshear for final action. 

“The Kentucky hemp program is a staple for our agricultural community, but the selling and usage of unregulated THC is a danger to every Kentuckian who may use it,” Rep. Rebecca Raymer, R-Morgantown, the bill's sponsor, said in a news release. “These products have no standards for production. If someone were to purchase Delta-8, they have no way of determining if it is safe. This measure will both protect our consumers and enhance the industry.”

According to WebMD, Delta-8 THC is a naturally occurring chemical compound called a cannabinoid that's found in small traces in hemp and marijuana plants. Its chemical structure is similar to that of Delta-9 THC, the main psychoactive compound found in marijuana. Delta-8 causes a milder high than Delta-9. It can generally be purchased anywhere that sells CDB products, including gas stations, convenience stores and vape shops. 

House Bill 544, sponsored by Raymer, directs the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to begin the process of regulating Delta-8 THC and any other hemp-derived substances by Aug. 1. 

The bill also makes it illegal for people under 21 to purchase Delta-8 THC products, requires retailers to keep the products behind a counter, and sets guidelines for labeling. It establishes a testing and approval process that products must clear before they can be sold or distributed in the state.

"These are just our recommendations of what we think should be included in it, and I think the hemp industry would like to be at the table to come up with the final recommendations of maybe what the testing and the thresholds would look like," Raymer told a House committee March 9.

Kentucky Hemp Association President Katie Moyer and Commonwealth Extracts CEO John Taylor endorsed the bill at the same committee meeting.

Taylor said, "Every valid actor wants these types of regulations. It gets rid of the bad actors that make it hard to compete. It costs a lot of money to do the right thing, and when we have people making things in bathrooms and basements and barns it really makes it very hard to compete on a legitimate level." 

The Senate changed the bill to say that if a Kentucky producer is shipping a Delta-8 THC product to a state with testing requirements, the producer can defer to that state's requirements, but if shipping to a state with no testing requirements, they should abide by Kentucky's regulations. The House agreed.

Gov. Andy Beshear is expected to sign the bill. He issued an executive order in November 2022 directing the health cabinet to regulate Delta-8 THC following the court ruling in Boone County last year. His order was coupled with one using his pardon power to allow people with certain medical conditions and a doctor's certificate to possess up to 8 ounces of cannabis bought legally in another state.

Medical cannabis bill passes Senate, awaits House vote March 30

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

A bill that would make medical marijuana legal for some in Kentucky has passed the state Senate for the first time and awaits a vote in the House, which has passed two similar bills in previous legislative sessions.

Sen. Stephen West

"It is time for Kentucky to join the other 37 states in the United States that allow medical marijuana as an option for their citizens," said Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris, in presenting his bill to the Senate, adding later, "It is understood that this is a very complex issue and if passed, will be a work in progress." 

Senate Bill 47 passed late Thursday night on a 26-11 vote. The House gave the bill its first of three required readings the same night, which will allow enough time for it to pass out of the House when the lawmakers return March 29 and 30.

Last year, after a House-passed bill again got no hearing in the Senate, Gov. Andy Beshear used his pardon power to allow people with 21 specified medical conditions and a doctor's certificate to possess up to eight ounces of marijuana bought legally in another state. (Illinois is the only adjoining state where nonresidents can legally buy cannabis.) Beshear signaled Thursday that he would sign the bill.

West, who said he has worked on such legislation for about five or six years, told the Senate, “This is one of those issues where you take out the ledger and you list the pros and cons. It’s a long list on both sides, but for me personally, the pros outweigh the cons.”

The 124-page bill would not allow medical marijuana to be smoked, require users to be 18 or older or be a caretaker for a child, limit supply, and not take effect until Jan. 1, 2025.

The medical marijuana would be allowed for certain "qualifying medical conditions," including all cancers regardless of the stage; chronic, severe, intractable or debilitating pain; epilepsy or any other tractable seizure disorder; multiple sclerosis, muscle spasms or spasticity; chronic nausea or cyclical vomiting syndrome that has proven resistant to other conventional medical treatments; post-traumatic stress disorder; and any other medical condition or disease for which the new Kentucky Center for Cannabis Research at the University of Kentucky determines would benefit from medicinal marijuana.

West and other lawmakers praised the advocacy of Eric and Michelle Crawford, a quadriplegic who has long searched for another option to manage his pain. They also praised the ongoing work of advocate Jamie Montalvo, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, toward getting this bill passed. 

 Sen. Phillip Wheeler, R-Pikeville, said the Crawfords and Montalvo don't want to break the law: "These are people that are willing to work hard and make sacrifices to comply with the law. What they are looking for is a pathway forward to make sure that people can get a safe product." 

Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, said it was important to show those who are suffering from  debilitating diseases  "just a little bit of mercy" and that was why he voted yes.   

“Will this be abused by some folks?  It certainly will," he said. "But again, if we can benefit just one person, one child, I think it’s worthwhile."

Only Republicans voted against the bill: Gary Boswell of Owensboro, Danny Carroll of Benton, Donald Douglas of Nicholasville, Rick Girdler of Somerset, President Pro Tem David Givens of Greensburg, Chris McDaniel of Ryland Heights, Robby Mills of Henderson, John Schickel of Union, President Robert Stivers of Manchester, Mike Wilson of Bowling Green, and Max Wise of Campbellsville. 

Marijuana is a "scourge of the earth," Boswell said. "I urge my colleagues to vote no. If you are going to violate federal law, at least tighten up the bill to include only the critically ill." 

Douglas, a physician, said, “With the different growing techniques and the increased concentration of these chemical compounds, I’m not really convinced that this drug is safe. But we do have some research going on out there, and I really want to thank the University of Kentucky. I hope we have some other institutions doing research who will give us good information.”

Medical marijuana passes Senate committee, awaits floor vote

L-R: Eric Crawford, Jamie Montalvo, Sen. Stephen West and Chris Joffrion spoke in favor of West's medical marijuana bill in the Senate Licensing and Occupations Committee. (Legislative photo)  

By Melissa Patrick

Kentucky Health News

For the first time, a bill to legalize and regulate medical marijuana in Kentucky has cleared a Senate committee after years of the idea being stalled in the upper chamber. 

Senate Bill 47, with a committee substitute, passed out of the Senate Licensing & Occupations Committee March 14 on an 8-3 vote. Republican Sens. Donald Douglas of Nicholasville, Committee Chair John Schickel of Union, and Chris McDaniel of Ryland Heights, cast the "no" votes. 

Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer of Georgetown, a long-time opponent of medical marijuana legislation, was among those voting in favor of the bill, saying he approved its narrow focus and that his support was for "the sake of those who suffer." 

The 124-page bill, sponsored by Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris, does not allow medical marijuana to be smoked, requires users to be 18 or older or be a caretaker for a child, and would not take effect until Jan. 1, 2025.

The medical marijuana would be allowed for certain "qualifying medical conditions," including all cancers regardless of stage; chronic, severe, intractable or debilitating pain; epilepsy or any other tractable seizure disorder; multiple sclerosis, muscle spasms or spasticity; chronic nausea or cyclical vomiting syndrome that has proven resistant to other conventional medical treatments; post-traumatic stress disorder; and any other medical condition or disease for which the new Kentucky Center for Cannabis Research determines would benefit from medicinal marijuana. 

Longtime advocate for medical marijuana Eric Crawford of Mason County, who has been a quadriplegic for nearly 30 years, said marijuana improves the quality of his life and that he and others who benefit from it "deserve legal access without the worry of law enforcement."  

“It allows me longevity and a better quality of life. It allows me to be a better husband, son, friend and man than a pharmaceutical route. Surely there’s nobody on this committee that thinks I’d be better off taking opioids,” he said.

Sandra Marlowe, the sister of Sen. Gex Williams, R-Verona, who is wheelchair-bound due to the debiliating and deadly disease ALS, also asked the committee members to pass the bill. 

“This disease will take my life. I ask that my days be as comfortable as possible with access to the THC tincture. That is the only thing that gives me relief. . . . Without painful cramps, I am more productive," she said. 

Thayer told the Lexington Herald-Leader on Tuesday that the bill had time to get its two required readings for a vote on the Senate floor Thursday, the final legislative day before the veto session. However, he added that he's not sure it has the Senate floor votes to get passed.

If the Senate passes the bill Thursday and gets a reading in the House, the House coulld pass it when the lawmakers return for the last two days of the session, usually reserved fro veto overrides. Medical marijuana bills have passed out of the House twice.

Two people spoke against the bill: Michael Johnson of the Family Foundation and Gene Cole of the Kentucky Ethics League/ Kentucky League on Alcohol, Gambling Problems and Substance Use Disorder. 

Johnson said the while he is sympathetic to people who have not found relief from their ailment from modern medicine,  there is "insufficient scientific evidence that marijuana is an effective pain relieving agent or that it is safe and effective as a medicine." He also called for "more research"  before it is legalized.

If you smoke pot, lay off before surgery; you could wake up early

Photo illustration from OR Management

Regular users of marijuana may need up to three times more anesthetic to keep them unconscious during surgical procedures, so they need to tell surgical personnel about it, say doctors who have studied the phenomenon. And a preliminary study suggests that cannabis users have more pain after surgery.

"Why this might be is, like anasthesia itself, something of a mystery," reports The Economist. "The problem is magnified by a growing number of Americans getting high," with recreational cannabis legal in 20 states. "A 2021 federal survey found that 18.7% of people age 12 or older had used marijuana in the past year," The Wall Street Journal reports.

"More doctors say they are asking about marijuana use—and urging honesty—before surgeries or procedures because habitual users may need more anesthesia and painkillers," the Journal reports. "It isn’t clear if the anesthesia complication is largely limited to people who use THC, the main psychoactive component of marijuana and what causes the high, or also extends to people who take cannabidiol, or CBD. The latter doesn’t produce the high that THC does and is sometimes used as a remedy for pain, sleep or anxiety. Many cannabis products such as edibles contain a combination of the two."

Published studies of the problem have been limited, mainly because federal law thwarts studies of cannabis. Studies have focused on endoscopy, a procedure in which a long tube with a lens and a light is passed down the throat to the digestive tract. A study in Ontario found that daily users of cannabis needed more profopol, a common surgical sedative, than weekly or monthly users.

"Smoking weed before surgery can make patients confused, irritable and sometimes even violent when they wake up," The Economist reports. "A working paper presented in October, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, suggests that weed can hinder recovery, too. Of the nearly 35,000 Cleveland Clinic patients assessed, those who used marijuana within 30 days of their operation experienced 14% more pain in the day after surgery and took 7% more prescription opioids to ease it." A study published in 2018 "found that cannabis users had higher pain scores and consumed 25% to 37% higher quantities of opioids compared with nonusers," The Wall Street Journal reports.

The American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine said in January that pregnant women should be discouraged from smoking cannabis, "and non-emergency surgeries should be postponed by at least two hours if the patient comes in blitzed. A slew of other new reports warn anaesthesiologists of the mounting risks," The Economist reports. "The common perception that marijuana eases nerves works against doctors. Some people seem to be getting stoned before they arrive at the hospital in order to calm themselves down. New users may be particularly likely to smoke for such a purpose. For a better experience, patients should forgo the parking-lot hit."

House sends Senate a bill to regulate Delta-8 THC as Senate prepares to give medical-marijuana bill its first hearing and vote

By Liam Niemeyer
Kentucky Lantern

After a court decision last year legalized an intoxicating compound derived from hemp, a bill to regulate Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol sped through the state House on Thursday.

Delta-8 THC can get a user “high” similar to the Delta-9 THC compound that laws use to define marijuana. Some hemp farmers have been trying to find a market for extra CBD-rich hemp by synthetically converting it into Delta-8 THC, and it’s seen growing popularity across the state being sold in edibles and vapes.

The Kentucky Hemp Association sued the state in 2021 after a series of police raids of Delta-8 THC products, arguing Delta-8 THC was made legal under a past federal Farm Bill. A Boone County circuit judge sided with the association last year, and the president of the association says it’s now advocating for “common sense rules” on the sale and production of the compound.

Katie Moyer, president, Kentucky Hemp Association

“We have sort of a Wild West situation. It’s a gray area. Delta-8 is being sold around the state, and it’s being sold in gas stations, health food stores,” KHA President Katie Moyer said. “But it’s coming from ‘who knows where.’ We’re not surely getting it from Kentucky producers who are growing it here, who we can go visit their store, their facility.”

House Bill 544, sponsored by Rep. Rebecca Raymer, R-Morgantown, was as of Wednesday a bill making technical language changes related to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The new bill language — which KHA supports — directs the cabinet to immediately begin the process of regulating Delta-8 THC and “other hemp-derived substances.”

Among the regulations the legislation directs the cabinet to develop: prohibiting anyone younger than 21 from buying or possessing Delta-8 THC products, ensuring Delta-8 THC is produced in Kentucky and is properly tested, and requiring a standard of labeling for the products.

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear issued an executive order in November 2022 directing the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to begin regulating Delta-8 THC following the Boone County ruling.

The House passed the bill 97-0 Thursday afternoon.

Speaker Pro Tem David Meade, R-Stanford, a co-sponsor, said that since Beshear issued that executive order “there has been nothing done” in regards to regulating the intoxicating compound.

“I’ve had numerous folks in our school systems and my local sheriff asking for us to do something about this issue,” Meade said. “What’s sad is that we have to do this in order to tell the governor to do the right thing and go ahead and push the regs forward.”

A spokesperson for the cabinet did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

KHA had opposed a bill last year that would have banned Delta-8 THC products, which ultimately died in the House.

Meanwhile, a bill to legalize medical marijuana in Kentucky will get its first hearing and a vote in a Senate committee Tuesday, but that is the 26th day of the 30-day legislative session, so its passage is in doubt, reports Joe Sonka of the Courier Journal. Such bills have passed the House twice.

Beshear has used his pardon power to allow people with a doctor's certification that they suffer from at least one of 21 medical conditions to possess up to eight ounces of cannabis legally purchases another state.

In first gubernatorial debate, Cameron says he could sign a medical-cannabis bill; Keck favors exceptions to abortion law

Candidates who debated, clockwise from upper left:
Somerset Mayor Alan Keck, Attorney General Daniel
Cameron, state Auditor Mike Harmon, Commissioner
of Agriculture Ryan Quarles (Spectrum News image)

By Al Cross
Kentucky Health News

Attorney General Daniel Cameron said Tuesday night that he could sign a medical-marijuana bill as governor if it law-enforcement and medical experts "can get around a framework that is responsible."

Cameron was one of four Republican candidates for governor who appeared in the first debate of the race, held in Louisville by Spectrum News, a cable-television service.

Somerset Mayor Alan Keck separated himself from the other three by saying "there should be some exceptions" to the law that bans abortion except in cases of threat to the woman's life.

When Cameron ran for attorney general four years ago he was "absolutely" against medical marijuana, Nick Storm of Kentucky Fried Politics noted in his post-debate analysis for Spectrum. Then, he was the candidate of law enforcement, but now polls show overwhelming voter support for medical cannabis, Storm noted.

Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, who came out for medical cannabis a week earlier, said whatever law the state had needs "a very narrow framework." Keck said he "came out with this policy position months ago," and said it is "another example of Kentucky lagging behind. . . . We need to get the Senate on board and get it done.”

The Senate has not taken up medical-cannabis bills that the House, also controlled by Republicans, has passed in two legislative sessions. Late last year, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear used his pardon power to allow people with a doctor's certification that they have at least one of 21 specified medical conditions to possess up to eight ounces of cannabis bought legally in another state.  

State Auditor Mike Harmon, who answered the question last, said "I'm not there yet, but I am open to discussion."

The debate did not include former United Nations ambassador Kelly Craft, who declined the invitation from Spectrum and the Jefferson County Republican Party, which co-sponsored the event.

On abortion, Cameron, Harmon and Quarles said they support the current law, but Keck said, "I struggle, candidly, with this . . . I'm absolutely pro-life . . . I do believe there should be some exceptions … there has to be consideration for the woman in the event of violent trauma to them, especially in adolescence."

Asked if they would support greater public availability of Narcan, which counteracts drug overdoses, Harmon said he would be. Cameron said local officials should make the decision, and Keck said he is "a big believer in local control." Quarles said he would have to discuss the idea with legislators, law enforcement and people in public health.

Quarles says that if elected governor, he would work with the General Assembly to legalize medical marijuana in Kentucky

Quarles spoke on the Capitol steps. (KL photo by McKenna Horsley)

By McKenna Horsley
Kentucky Lantern

Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles told reporters Tuesday he would work with the General Assembly to legalize medical marijuana if he is elected governor.

“It needs to be dialogue between a doctor and their patient, and keep big government out of it,” Quarles said, adding that patients in end-of-life care could benefit from medical marijuana, and some are already self-medicating.

Quarles touted his experience running Kentucky’s hemp-licensing program in his seven-plus years leading the state Department of Agriculture. He criticized Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s executive order on medical marijuana, saying it “muddied the water on this issue” and failed to involve Kentucky agriculture.

 
He said provisions should be made to benefit production from Kentucky farmers, including those who already grow hemp, and medical marijuana should, like other medications, be exempt from sales tax.

Beshear has said that 90% of adult Kentuckians support legalizing medical cannabis. His executive order, which took effect Jan. 1, set criteria for Kentuckians with certain medical conditions to access medical cannabis in small amounts through legal out-of-state purchases.

Quarles said that because the General Assembly was bypassed in implementing the order, doctors and patients are confused.

“As a former legislator, I feel like I have the ability to work with the General Assembly and not sue them constantly like the current governor is doing,” he said. The legislature is controlled by fellow Republicans.

When asked how he plans to get legislation like this through the Senate — where bills to legalize medical marijuana have failed in recent years — Quarles said he’s worked to get other pieces of legislation passed and will approach it with the attitude of “consensus-driven” policy-making.

“I believe that over the course of the next year, we can find common ground that gets something that works for Kentucky and again is focused on that doctor-patient relationship,” Quarles said.

Bills to legalize medical marijuana have been filed in the current legislative session, such as Senate Bill 47 from Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris.

Asked about recreational marijuana, Quarles said Tuesday’s press conference would focus only on medical use. He said products with Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol — a psychoactive ingredient similar to delta-9 THC, the active ingredient specified by federal law — should be regulated. 

Quarles said none of the other candidates are “better positioned in this race to have a conversation about what the framework would be like to help pass a responsible medical marijuana bill through the General Assembly,” but in response to a question about how this issue sets him apart from the field, he said that he’s not focused on other campaigns, only his.

“Look, there’s 12 of us in this crowded primary,” he said. “All of them are my friends. They’re going to be my friends after May 16.”

The field includes Attorney General Daniel Cameron and former United Nations Ambassador Kelly Craft. Their campaigns have not responded to email questions from Kentucky Lantern about their positions on medical and recreational marijuana.

Somerset Mayor Alan Keck, another Republican running for governor, told the Bowling Green Daily News in January that medical marijuana is “a ‘common-sense solution’ for things like pain management, insomnia in veterans and children who suffer from seizures.”

Radio reporter describes with personal detail what it's like to go to another state to buy legal cannabis for a medical condition

What is it like for Kentuckians to buy cannabis in another state under Gov. Andy Beshear's executive order? WUKY's Karyn Czar, who has one of the 21 medical conditions specified in the governor's order, a side effect of chemotherapy, got legal cannabis in Illinois, the only adjoining state where Kentuckians can buy it.

Karyn Czar

Czar was diagnosed in August with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. "I began rounds of chemotherapy that left me exhausted, suffering from joint pain and tremors, and with a condition called neuropathy that causes my hands and feet to go numb," she reports. "I was sidelined from two things that I love, reporting in the field and performing on stage with local theater companies."

In the first report of a three-part series, Czar says she went to Illinois not just to find relief, but to "help any of you who, like me, have a condition that might be helped with medical cannabis. This first hurdle for me was getting over the stigma." Here's part of the conversation she had at the dispensary in Mount Vernon, Ill., with an employee identified only as Valerie:

Czar: "I couldn't sleep last night. I feel like I'm doing something that I shouldn't be doing."
Valerie: "Well, I felt like that at first, but then you have to recognize that it is legal in the state of Illinois. It is a benefit for people who do have cancer and other things wrong with them, and we're just going to follow the law and go with that."
Czar: "So, like where I'm losing the feeling somewhat in my hands and feet. So that the tremors and then sleep are my main things.”
Valerie: "Hearing that information I would suggest an indica. Then I would stick with a plain indica. I wouldn't add anything to it until you know what you were looking for. To be able to help the symptoms."

"Valerie takes me to a kiosk and pulls up a pie chart that lists dozens of medical conditions and symptoms," Czar reports. "She matches mine with the products she believes could offer relief."

Czar: "I'm just going to give you carte blanche to pick what you think I should try first."
Valerie: "So you said that gummy, right? You're interested in the gummy?
Czar: “Yes.”
Valerie: “So I would go back with that one and then the indica because of the symptoms. And then I kind of looked at my little wheel here, so I'm going to go with an indica so I can actually narrow myself down on the kiosk to what I need. I would stick with just a basic one."
Czar: "Okay."
Valerie: "Now, there's two different kinds here. I have one that's a live resin. Live resin is a live plant that has been crushed and frozen and everything extracted out of that, stems and all, that is then made into the gummy. Then I have your regular ones. The regular I call are just cured plants. They've taken that and fused it and made a regular gummy out of it."

The Thrive dispensary in Mount Vernon, Ill., has a wide range of products.

"What was most surprising was the array of products," Czar says. "Smokeable cannabis I expected. I also knew about edibles, but there were also drinks, snacks, lozenges, and topical creams. I got 10 gummies and a lotion. As I got ready to make my purchase, what I didn't expect was to be overcome with guilt. The stigma returned. My voice choked. . . . The tears were twofold. Of course, medical marijuana is still illegal here in Kentucky, and I would be transporting it across state lines. But I was also overwhelmed with the thought that this could help me.

"When we got back to the car, I took a fourth of the gummy, which was recommended and legal for me to do in Illinois, and used some of the topical cream on my left leg, which at this point had become completely numb up to my knee, and I was having to use a cane. About an hour later, when we stopped at a gas station, I got out of the car and the numbness had gone away. Now, it did not cure the neuropathy. However, it was back to a level to where I was able to tell when my foot was completely on the ground and I didn't need to use the cane."

Czar gives the legal basics: "Beshear's executive order offers pardons for having and using the drug if you meet certain criteria. You have to have an approved medical condition such as cancer, MS or PTSD, and have a signed note from a medical professional to prove it. Marijuana products must be purchased in a state that allows non-residents to buy it. And keep the receipt. Finally, you can't possess more than 8 ounces." More than that is a felony in Kentucky.

"There are caveats," Czar cautions. "Physicians can't give you advice on treatment or write a prescription. So I had to rely on trial and error until I figured out which doses and products work for me. You will have a positive result if you're asked to take a drug test. In my case, I might need a bone-marrow transplant, so I have to have a negative test if that moves forward."

She concludes, "Kentucky lawmakers are taking up medical marijuana again in the 2023 legislative session, but legalization efforts still face an uphill battle in the Republican-led Senate."

Delta-8 THC, mildly less potent than marijuana's delta-9, is legal in Ky. but has risks and new rules; could face further regulation

Delta-8 gummies on sale in Louisville (Courier Journal photo by Jeff Faughender)

Kentucky Health News

"While politicians debate whether to legalize medical marijuana in Kentucky, a lesser-known product that gets people similarly high is flourishing in the state. And it's already legal," reports Morgan Watkins of the Courier Journal.

Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol, which is moderately less potent but "almost identical to the delta-9 THC in marijuana that drives the mental high" can be sold to anyone in Kentucky, "theoretically even children, at the seller's discretion," Watkins reports.

That's due to a law passed by Congress, and the unwritten law of unintended consequences.

"The delta-8 business bloomed from an unforeseen loophole thanks to a law federally legalizing hemp, a cannabis plant with very little delta-9 THC," which U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell got passed to help farmers raise hemp, Watkins writes. "Delta-8 can be indirectly derived from hemp, and the way the 2018 law was written opened the door for businesses to make and sell it."

The door opened wider last year, after a circuit judge in Boone County "ruled delta-8 is allowed as long as such products don't have a higher concentration of delta-9 than federal law permits," Watkins notes. "Dozens of business owners in the Louisville area gradually have put delta-8 vapes and edibles on their shelves. This upstart market even fueled the opening of new stores."

Into that regulatory gap has jumped Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear. When he issued an executive order for medical marijuana last fall, he issued another requring delta-8 products to "meet certain rules, including packaging and labeling requirements that apply to other hemp-derived materials," Watkins notes.

New legal challenges could arise at the Kentucky General Assembly, which is again debating the issue of medical marijuana. The state Senate banned delta-8 last year, "but the bill died in the House," Watkins notes. "Conversely, the House has passed legislation to permit medical marijuana in recent years that died in the Senate."

Some in the industry told Watkins that delta-8's popularity in states such as Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee stems from the fact that medical and recreational marijuana aren't legal there. Jim Higdon, co-founder of Kentucky-based cannabidiol brand Cornbread Hemp, told her: "As a product of prohibition, delta-8 THC is the bathtub gin of our generation."

Delta-8 can be produced from cannabidiol, or CBD, Watkins notes: "The resulting oil is then used in products. With minimal-to-no regulations in various states, pretty much anyone can make delta-8."

But the product has risks. Kent Vrana, pharmacology chair at Penn State, told Watkins that delta-8 products may contain heavy metals, chemical solvents and pesticides. "Using delta-8 also involves some of the same risks as using marijuana, Vrana said, including the possibility of developing an addiction. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn't evaluated or authorized delta-8 products "for safe use in any context." Vrana said research into medical marijuana shows it can stimulate the appetite and limit seizures, and there are indications it can help manage pain. He said there’s no question delta-8 has similar potential."

KET panel discusses bill to legalize medical cannabis in Kentucky

Renee Shaw discusses legislation introduced to legalize medical marijuana in Kentucky on KET's Kentucky Tonight with guests (L-R) Jaime Montalvo, founder of Kentuckians for Medicinal Marijuana; Sen. Phillip Wheeler, R-Pikeville; Dr. Danesh Mazloomdoost, an anesthesiologist and degenerative specialist; and Ed Shemelya, coordinator of the National Marijuana Initiative. 

By Melissa Patrick

Kentucky Health News

Proponents and opponents of a bill to legalize medical marijuana in Kentucky were on KET's Jan. 30 edition of "Kentucky Tonight," with proponents saying Kentuckians are calling for legal access to cannabis and opponents saying doctors shouldn't be asked to prescribe or recommend a substance based only on anecdotal evidence that it works. 

"Passage of the medical marijuana law isn't going to just magically bring marijuana to Kentucky. It's already here," Jaime Montalvo, founder of Kentuckians for Medicinal Marijuana, told KET host Renee Shaw. "What we as patients are asking [for] is the regulation of cannabis so that we can go to a safe environment and purchase a product that is clean from people who are regulated by the state, you know, and are not there to sell us other potentially dangerous chemicals." 

Dr. Danesh Mazloomdoost, an anesthesiologist and degenerative specialist, told Shaw that it would be a stretch to define marijuana or cannabis as medicine, because research does not yet support that. 

"It has medicinal properties, but to call it medicine is a little bit of a misnomer because medicine is a product or compound that we know the pharmacology, the pharmacodynamics," he said. "In other words, what impact it has on the body; what conditions . . . it's applicable to; what are some of the contraindications; what are the risks? And we don't really have any of that information. We don't know what dosages are appropriate. We don't know what an overdose or what excessive dosages are. So to call it medicine conveys a false sense of security."  

The Kentucky House of Representatives has passed two medical marijuana bills, most recently in 2022 with a vote of 59-34. Both bills died in the Senate. Because the bills keep getting shut down in the Senate, this year's bill, Senate Bill 47, sponsored by Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris, will start there. 

Gov. Andy Beshear's Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee reported that 98.6% of Kentuckians who offered an opinion on its website supported medical marijuana. A Kentucky Health Issues Poll for the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky found that 90% of Kentuckians favor medical cannabis.

Shaw asked Sen. Phillip Wheeler, R-Pikeville, a primary co-sponsor of the bill, if he thought the medical marijuana bill would pass this year. 

Wheeler said, "I hesitate to speak for anybody but myself and the various co-sponsors of the bill, but I am optimistic that this may be the year that you see some action on it in the Senate. We have several new members, some of whom seem to be more open to the idea of medical cannabis." 

Earlier in January, Senate President Robert Stivers, who has long said more research is needed before a medical marijuana bill is passed, showed the first sign that he might be willing to compromise on this issue when he told Shaw Jan. 9 that he might be willing to approve medical marijuana in Kentucky on a very limited basis, to relieve patients' pain at the end of their lives. 

Ed Shemelya, national coordinator of the National Marijuana Initiative, said he opposed passing a medical marijuana law and instead said to allow the recent federal Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act to do its job. 

"What that act did is . . . remove most of those barriers so we can conduct legitimate research into not only the beneficial components of this plant, but also the harmful consequences of it," Shemelya said. "Absent that, if we were making a legislative decision to determine the efficacy and safety of a substance that isn't grounded in science and isn't rounded in research, is grounded in anecdotal stories that may or may not be correct."  

Further, he said diversion is occurring in each of the 37 states that medical marijuana is legal, along with increased incidences of impaired driving; people are experiencing THC psychosis from high-potency products; and treating cannabis as medicine will add to young people's misconception that it is safer than alcohol. 

Both sides criticized Beshear's executive order that used his pardon power to allow people with a medical provider's statement saying they have at least one of 21 specified medical conditions to possess up to eight ounces of cannabis for medical purposes in Kentucky, if bought legally in another state. The only adjoining state that currently allows such purchases by Kentuckians is Illinois.

Montalvo, who said he had just gotten a letter of confirmation from his doctor that he has multiple sclerosis, one of the medical conditions included in Beshear's order, told Shaw that he fears the executive order could result in some patients thinking cannabis is legal and that it could lead to an influx of cases in the court system if police officers can't decipher what is legal or not. 

"I fear that the executive order was well intentioned, but has led or will lead to many more problems," he said. 

Wheeler told Shaw that while he shares the governor's compassion for people wanting cannabis to treat afflictions, he was disappointed in Beshear for not recognizing it is the legislature's job to set the policy and the governor's job to execute it. He also said the order creates confusion among law enforcement and that the use of a prospective pardon creates a "slippery slope" in a state where marijuana possession is illegal. But he said he didn't think the governor's order would impact the bill's process.

Beshear said he was prompted by the lack of legislative action. Wheeler said, "Sometimes it takes many sessions to get [a bill] through and that's part of our constitutional democracy. And I don't think it's appropriate for this governor or any governor to circumvent that by things such as the executive order that he signed." 

Wheeler also revealed several components of the 155-page medical marijuana bill. He said it creates a safe marketplace to buy the products; does not include a list of conditions required to make a person eligible to receive it; requires a time-limited supply; allows flexibility for doctors and pharmacists; says cannabis can't be grown independently; allows children to use it with parental consent; allows only doctors and doctors of osteopathic medicine to prescribe it; directs the Medical Licensure Board to handle cases of prescribing abuse; and gives oversight to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, which would be renamed the Department of Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Control. He also said cannabis won't be taxed.  

The hour-long show opened with Preston Cantwell of Rineyville in Hardin County, who was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was 4, telling the story of how medical cannabis has stopped his seizures, which several prescribed medications had failed to do. He said CBD, or cannabidiol, worked to reduce his seizures for a couple of years, but it eventually stopped working. He now uses "whole plant cannabis" and hasn't had a seizure since 2019. "It has basically, just entirely cured it," he said. 

Julie Cantwell, his mother and founder of Kentucky Moms for Medical Cannabis, told KET that every few months they drive to Michigan to get their cannabis, which costs thousands of dollars. "We would like to be able to spend that here," she said.