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As Kentucky advocates step up their push for medical marijuana legalization in the upcoming session, the governor is educating police about the scope of the executive order protecting certain patients who possess cannabis purchased in other states that he issued last month.<\/p>\n
Gov. Andy Beshear (D) said his administration is distributing what are known as \u201cpalm cards\u201d to officers, with information about what will be permissible under his executive order<\/a> that goes into effect on Sunday, January 1. At a press briefing on Thursday, he said that the cards are \u201cvery simple\u201d for law enforcement to understand and should give patients a little peace of mind.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, activists with groups including Kentucky Moms for Medical Cannabis (KMMC) and Kentucky NORML are making their position clear to lawmakers ahead of the session that starts next week, plastering the walls of a tunnel adjacent to the State Capitol building with hundreds of photos of patients to underscore the urgency of the reform.<\/p>\n \u201cThey get to see that they\u2019re not alone,\u201d KMMC co-founder Kristin Wilcox told<\/a> WHAS 11. \u201cWe have several advocates in here who died fighting for this, so we fight for them too.\u201d<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Beshear was among the first to sign a pledge that the organizers launched for elected officials to commit to working to legalize medical cannabis in the Bluegrass State.<\/p>\n Many Kentuckians with chronic pain are suffering and searching for relief. Today I visited with Moms for Cannabis, advocates who are looking for health solutions that don’t sacrifice quality of life \u2013 something medical cannabis can deliver. pic.twitter.com\/RG9sZUWA63<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) December 28, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n \u201cMany Kentuckians with chronic pain are suffering and searching for relief,\u201d the governor, who touted<\/a> his cannabis executive order in an end-of-year accomplishments list, said. \u201cToday I visited with Moms for Cannabis, advocates who are looking for health solutions that don\u2019t sacrifice quality of life\u2013something medical cannabis can deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n Beshear also said during the press briefing on Thursday that \u201cit is time\u201d for lawmakers to legalize medical marijuana, and \u201cthe legislature should have done this a long time ago.\u201d He said the state is losing out on revenue as patients travel to other states to get their medicine \u201cbecause we don\u2019t have one of these systems.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI did my best with that executive order, but there are limitations to it,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd yesterday I talked to moms of children that are really suffering or who have parents that are suffering\u2014that this is such a better answer\u201d compared to taking \u201c16, 17 prescriptions\u2014most of them opioids.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf nothing else, our veterans suffering from PTSD because of their sacrifice for this country deserve this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI want our people to be able to get [cannabis] close to home. I don\u2019t want them to have to drive to Illinois,\u201d he added. \u201cBut that takes an act of of the legislature. I\u2019m the first to admit the executive order is imperfect, because the legislature should have done this a long time ago, but it\u2019s also fluid. And just by reissuing an additional executive order, we can shore up anything that we have the ability to as we have those discussions with other states.\u201d<\/p>\n Beshear has separately asked the state\u2019s Administrative Office of the Courts to conduct an analysis to determine how many Kentuckians have misdemeanor marijuana charges on their records and the possible impact of pardons.<\/p>\n He\u2019s said that he\u2019s continuing to push for medical cannabis legalization in the state, but he also recognizes the importance of providing relief to those who\u2019ve been criminalized under the broader prohibition of marijuana.<\/p>\n Also, the governor recently released a report<\/a>\u00a0from a\u00a0medical marijuana advisory committee that he formed<\/a>\u00a0in June, and he said in September that he would be taking their findings into account as he continues to consider executive actions for reform.<\/p>\n The committee\u2019s report also determined that while the governor many be able to enact some reforms unilaterally, most of its recommendations to provide patients with medical cannabis access \u201cwould require legislative action\u201d\u2014a problem given some leading lawmakers\u2019 opposition to moving ahead.<\/p>\n \u2014 In April, the governor\u00a0previewed plans to advance the issue<\/a>\u00a0of medical marijuana administratively, criticizing the Senate for failing to heed the will of voters and for \u201cobstructing\u201d reform by refusing to even give a hearing to a House-passed bill this year.<\/p>\n Beshear has made several recent comments about\u00a0the possibility of taking executive action on cannabis policy<\/a>\u00a0though has said he would prefer for lawmakers to pass comprehensive legislation on the issue. But with\u00a0a House-passed medical marijuana legalization bill<\/a>\u00a0dead after the end of the legislative session, he\u2019s increasingly expressed openness to administrative action.<\/p>\n Senate Floor Leader Damon Thayer (R) steadfastly opposes the broader medical cannabis policy change, having warned that it\u2019s a fast-track to full legalization. He said in March that the House-passed medical marijuana legislation had no chance of passing this session and it\u2019s \u201cdone\u00a0for the year.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know my constituents are for it,\u201d Thayer, who owns a whiskey distillery,\u00a0said during a televised panel in January<\/a>. \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 Democratic leaders from both chambers, meanwhile, said in January that\u00a0legalizing medical marijuana would be a top legislative priority<\/a>\u00a0for this year\u2019s session. And in the spirit, Senate Minority Floor Leader Morgan McGarvey (D) and two other colleagues filed their own legalization measures in February.<\/p>\n The governor also voiced support for broader legalization late last year, saying that it\u2019s \u201ctime we joined so many other states in doing the right thing.\u201d He added that Kentucky farmers would be well positioned to\u00a0grow and sell cannabis to other states<\/a>.<\/p>\n Minnesota\u2019s Outgoing House Majority Leader Will Lead Push To Legalize Marijuana In 2023 With Revised Bill<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis \/\/ Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Kentucky Governor Educates Police About Medical Marijuana Executive Order As Activists Press Lawmakers To Pass A Comprehensive Bill<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
As Kentucky advocates step up their push for medical marijuana legalization in the upcoming session, the governor is educating police about the scope of the executive order protecting certain patients who possess cannabis purchased in other states that he issued last month. Gov. Andy Beshear (D) said his administration isContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":60028,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60027"}],"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=60027"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60029,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60027\/revisions\/60029"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Kentucky Governor Educates Police About Medical Marijuana Executive Order As Activists Press Lawmakers To Pass A Comprehensive Bill<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"