Legislation filed in Kentucky would greatly expand the list of qualifying medical marijuana conditions.
Senate Bill 337 was filed last week by Senator Steve West (R), who was the lead sponsor for the medical marijuana legalization bill that was enacted in 2023. Senate Bill 337 was assigned to the Committee on Committees the same day, and assigned to the Health Services Committee on March 1.
Under the proposed law, the number of qualifying medical marijuana conditions would expand from six, to 21. New qualifying conditions would include arthritis, HIV, AIDS, fibromyalgia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, irritable bowel disease, sickle cell disease, cachexia or wasting syndrome, neuropathies, muscular dystrophy, Huntington’s disease, glaucoma and all terminal illnesses.
Under current law, the only qualifying conditions for medical marijuana use are epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, chronic nausea or vomiting, cancer, severe or chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
According to an analysis released by Governor Andy Beshear (D), expanding the list of qualifying conditions to 21 would allow 437,000 more people in Kentucky to be eligible to become a medical marijuana patient, if they so choose.
Last week in Kentucky Senator David Yates filed a bill to allow those 21 and older to possess an ounce of marijuana for recreational use. A Department of Cannabis Control would be established to oversee a new legal marijuana industry, where licensed retail outlets sell marijuana and marijuana products.
Separate legislation (House Bill 72) was filed earlier this year by Representative Nima Kulkarni stating that the “possesses, traffics, or cultivates a personal use quantity of cannabis shall not be subject to any penalty for that activity.”
Also filed this year was House Bill 420. Like SB 382, this bill would establish a system of licensed, regulated and taxed marijuana businesses. Marijuana stores would be allowed to sell marijuana and marijuana products to anyone 21 and older, with sales taxed at 9% at the possession limit for dried flower set at one ounce. The measure would also allow for expungements and provide employee protections.
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