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A top Republican Kentucky senator says he knows that his constituents support legalizing medical marijuana\u2014but he won\u2019t vote for it because he fears it will lead to recreational legalization. The senator, who profits from sales of another recreational substance as the owner of a bourbon distillery, said people can go ahead and try to vote him out if they\u2019re upset about it.<\/p>\n
Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer (R) was asked about the issue during a panel discussion with other legislators on 2022 legislative priorities that was hosted by Kentucky Educational Television (KET) on Monday.<\/p>\n
Prompted with polling that shows the state\u2019s voters strongly back medical cannabis<\/a>, Thayer acknowledged that the policy \u201cdoes enjoy broad support in Kentucky. I\u2019m just not for it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAre you hearing from your constituents that they want it to be considered?\u201d the moderator asked<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been hearing about it for years. I know my constituents are for it,\u201d Thayer said. \u201cBut this is a republic, and they elect us to go to Frankfort and make decisions on their behalf\u2014and if they don\u2019t like it, they can take it out on me in the next election.\u201d<\/p>\n Listen to the conversation over medical marijuana policy, starting around 49:59 into the video below:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n It\u2019s a brazen statement from an elected official, effectively telling the people he represents that he knows better than them and then daring them to unseat him if they don\u2019t like his position.<\/p>\n The GOP leader did say that there may be the votes to advance reform legislation like a medical marijuana bill from Rep. Jason Nemes (R) that soundly passed the House in 2020 and has continued to be workshopped.<\/p>\n Nemes \u201chas been working hard to improve his bill. He\u2019s told me a little bit about it,\u201d Thayer said. \u201cI\u2019m just not going to be for it. That doesn\u2019t mean others won\u2019t and that we won\u2019t have the votes to pass it. Right now, I don\u2019t really see the energy for it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody gets to decide on their own what they\u2019re for and what they\u2019re against in our caucus, and I\u2019m not going to try to persuade them one way or the other on that issue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The reason for Thayer\u2019s opposition is somewhat ironic. The senator said he thinks medical cannabis is \u201ca slippery slope for recreational marijuana.\u201d But he doesn\u2019t seem to have a problem with other, arguably more dangerous, recreational products. The senator owns a whiskey distillery.<\/p>\n In fact, a biography on the \u201cKentucky Senator\u201d liquor brand\u2019s website<\/a> proudly notes that Thayer is the only senator to have twice won \u201cThe 100 Proof Award,\u201d which is \u201cthe highest honor that the Bourbon industry gives to elected officials who promote and protect Kentucky\u2019s home spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n Also in Monday\u2019s KET forum, House Speaker Pro Tempore David Meade (R) said he is \u201con the fence\u201d about medical cannabis.<\/p>\n \u201cIt depends on how it is tailored and how tight it is,\u201d he said. \u201cMy fear is the same as Senator Thayer\u2019s, is that he\u2019s going to lead to some type of recreational environment.\u201d<\/p>\n In any case, Kentucky Democratic leaders said at a briefing on Monday that legalizing medical marijuana is one of their top priorities<\/a> for the upcoming 2022 legislative session.<\/p>\n \u201cAnother thing enjoys widespread support among Kentuckians\u2014and is just long overdue\u2014is commonsense cannabis laws,\u201d Senate Minority Leader Morgan McGarvey (D) said. \u201cWe must go ahead and get medical marijuana passed in Kentucky this session.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Last month, Gov. Andy Beshear (D)\u00a0said medical marijuana is \u201cthe future,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and part of that future should involve letting farmers grow cannabis to sell to other states. He also expressed openness to broader legislation that would allow adults 21 and older to grow and possess cannabis without having a medical reason for it.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the future. It\u2019s where things are going,\u201d he said of medical marijuana. \u201cIt\u2019s time we joined so many other states in doing the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Beshear, who\u00a0called on lawmakers to pass the reform<\/a>\u00a0during a State of the Commonwealth last year, said that \u201cit is past time\u201d to legalize cannabis for medical use and that the plant \u201ccan provide some relief for folks that would otherwise turn to more damaging substances.\u201d<\/p>\n While the governor has said that his focus will be on getting medical cannabis enacted in the coming legislative session, he also talked about broader legislation introduced by Rep. Nima Kulkarni (D) in November would prevent people from being incarcerated over marijuana for any use, saying he\u2019s in favor of that policy.<\/p>\n Kulkarni\u2019s bill would\u00a0legalize the possession and personal cultivation of cannabis<\/a>, but it doesn\u2019t provide a regulatory framework for commercial sales.<\/p>\n Nemes, the Republican sponsor of a medical marijuana bill, said in October that he made multiple revisions to the legislation to scale it back<\/a>\u00a0and add restrictions to garner more support from colleagues\u2014and he said he\u2019s confident it would pass if legislative leaders had the \u201ccourage\u201d to simply allow a vote on it.<\/p>\n After passing the House in 2020, the bill later died in the Senate without a vote amid the early part of the coronavirus pandemic. He reintroduced the legislation<\/a>\u00a0last January for the 2021 session but it did not advance in that session. Now he\u2019s working to build support for a new version for 2022.<\/p>\n Illinois Sets Marijuana Sales Record In December, With Nearly $1.4 Billion Sold In 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post GOP Kentucky Senator Who Sells Bourbon Invites Voters To Unseat Him Over Medical Marijuana Opposition<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A top Republican Kentucky senator says he knows that his constituents support legalizing medical marijuana\u2014but he won\u2019t vote for it because he fears it will lead to recreational legalization. The senator, who profits from sales of another recreational substance as the owner of a bourbon distillery, said people can goContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":52102,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52101"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52101"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52103,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52101\/revisions\/52103"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: GOP Kentucky Senator Who Sells Bourbon Invites Voters To Unseat Him Over Medical Marijuana Opposition<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"