LEXINGTON, Ky. — Trying to bypass the General Assembly, which long has resisted calls to legalize medical marijuana in Kentucky, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear on Tuesday issued executive orders to make the drug accessible to Kentuckians on a limited basis.
“It is clear that Kentuckians want medical cannabis,” Beshear said at a Capitol news conference.
Beshear’s first order will allow Kentuckians as of Jan. 1 to possess up to 8 ounces of medical marijuana if it’s purchased legally in a part of the United States that allows it, which currently includes 37 states and the District of Columbia.
Marijuana possession up to 8 ounces is a misdemeanor under Kentucky law, punishable by up to a year in jail. The governor said he was basing his order on his broad constitutional authority to issue pardons.
However, to qualify under the order, Kentuckians must carry a certification from a licensed health care provider to show they suffer from at least one of 21 specified medical conditions, including cancer, ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, sickle cell anemia, glaucoma, or severe and chronic pain.
A patient caregiver who is at least 21 years old can qualify to possess the drug if they have written documentation.
Beshear’s second order sets regulations for the sale of Delta-8 THC, a substance sometimes touted as “marijuana lite.” Beshear said Delta-8 is not classified as a controlled substance under state or federal law, and a court ruled that it is legal in Kentucky after litigation between Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles and the hemp industry.
Beshear said too many Kentuckians suffer from chronic, often painful and sometimes terminal medical conditions for which medical marijuana could provide relief. Instead, he said, opioid painkillers have been over-prescribed and last year led to 2,250 overdose deaths in Kentucky.
Beshear’s Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee spent much of this year traveling the state to hear public testimony about Kentuckians’ opinions of the drug as one possible alternative. Of more than 3,500 comments received by the committee, 98.6% were in favor of legalizing medical marijuana, the governor said.
Some of the personal stories from people in pain are heartbreaking, Beshear said.
One of Beshear’s guests at the news conference was Jared Bonvell of Northern Kentucky, a U.S. Air Force veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bonvell said he was prescribed more than a dozen medications for his injuries that did not help and, in fact, left him suicidal at times. But medical marijuana eased his pain, to his surprise.
“To me, it’s a wonder drug,” Bonvell said. “It’s not even a drug, it’s a plant.”
“But now I was faced with, I’m a criminal, which doesn’t make sense,” he said.
Kentucky’s Republican-dominated state legislature repeatedly has blocked efforts to legalize and regulate the use of medical marijuana inside the Bluegrass state, most recently last winter with the defeat of House Bill 136.
Under the bill, only patients with specific conditions could have been prescribed medical marijuana, and then, only by their regular physicians. The bill would not have allowed marijuana to be smoked or grown in patients’ homes.
The House passed HB 136 by a 59-34 vote, but the measure died in the Senate for lack of action.
“I have said all along I wouldn’t stand in its way if we had the votes, but we do not have the votes in the Senate,” Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, said at that time.
On Tuesday, Beshear said his orders are not meant to be a substitute for action by the legislature, which he believes should legalize and regulate medical marijuana and allow it to be grown inside Kentucky, creating jobs.
Asked about some legislative leaders who say they want to see more studies on the drug’s effectiveness, the governor scoffed. The subject has been widely studied, he said, and more than three dozen states have legalized medical marijuana, including conservative Southern states like Mississippi and Alabama.
“There is a difference between a stalling tactic and truly needing more information,” he said.
There may yet be legal challenges to Beshear’s actions.
House and Senate leaders did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. But the office of Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who often clashes with Beshear, said he’s studying the orders.
“Time and time again, the governor has attempted to bypass the policy-making authority of the General Assembly,” Cameron said in a prepared statement.
“Today’s executive orders regarding medical marijuana and Delta-8 are another example of his attitude toward governing,” Cameron said. “As always, he seems to relish ruling by decree instead of by the law.”
“Kentucky’s General Assembly is the sole and final policy-making body of this state, and they must be allowed to have their say. We are reviewing these executive orders to determine next steps,” Cameron said.
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