Beshear wants to add 15 more conditions to the Kentucky medical cannabis program
The early framework for Kentucky’s medical marijuana program was set last year when Senate Bill 47 passed. This legislation calls for patients dealing with seven conditions, including cancer, to be allowed to use marijuana. But additional recommendations and regulations are already being filed just days into the 2024 legislative session. We’ll discuss some of these developments below.
Adding more qualifying conditions
Governor Beshear plans to expand the list of qualifying conditions to include ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Chron’s disease, sickle cell anemia, cachexia or wasting syndrome, neuropathies, severe arthritis, hepatitis C, fibromyalgia, muscular dystrophy, Huntington’s disease, HIV, AIDS, glaucoma and terminal illness.
“This is a crucial set,” Beshear said at his weekly news conference. “While the legislation referenced several qualifying conditions, it left others out.”
The addition of these medical conditions would make an estimated 437,000 more Kentuckians eligible, he said.
However, the governor faces some pushback in this area.
Republican Rep. Jason Nemes, states: “I don’t think now is the time to make those adjustments.” SB47 already includes language allowing for the “opportunity to make those adjustments when appropriate,” he said in a separate interview.
New program regulations released
Governor Beshear says his team filed 10 new regulations that will cover how cannabis businesses, cultivators, dispensaries, and more will operate in Kentucky. These regulations will go through the ordinary administrative regulation process, which means they will only be effective following the standard public comment and legislative review process and remain in effect until amended or repealed by the promulgating state agency. You can read
This first batch of regulations provide a framework for how medical cannabis businesses — cultivators, processors, producers and dispensaries — would operate and offer guidance on how products will be packaged, labeled, transported, advertised and tested. The public can access those regulations here.
“These regulations will ensure that Kentucky’s medical cannabis program is safe and accessible for all patients and to make sure that they are secure for our communities,” the governor said.
Some early safety and security requirements the governor's administration has proposed include: Having all harvest and production batches tested for THC, CBD and toxins; voluntary and mandatory recalls; registered caregivers for patients under 18; product packaging that is not created to appeal to minors; and use of professionally monitored surveillance and alarm systems at facilities with medical marijuana as well as other security measures.
Lawmakers will review those regulations and others. Additional rules on how Kentuckians can apply for a medical cannabis business license will be issued in coming weeks and months, Beshear said.
In another step toward implementation, the state has launched a commercial zoning tool meant to help medical marijuana businesses determine if a proposed location is legal. SB47 prohibits medical marijuana businesses from being within 1,000 feet of a primary or secondary school or day care.
Get legal now for medical marijuana use
Although in-state dispensaries will not open until 2025 at the earliest, patients with a qualifying medical condition can get approved by a doctor to use and possess legally purchased marijuana. Find out more about the program here.