Kentucky\u2019s governor is continuing to tout the buildout of the state\u2019s medical marijuana program following the opening of the 26th operational dispensary last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy administration worked hard to bring medical cannabis to Kentucky, and our hard work paid off,\u201d Gov. Andy Beshear (D) said on Wednesday, noting that he signed legislation to legalize medical marijuana in 2023 that took effect last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m proud to say that just a year and a half later, Team Kentucky is over halfway finished with building out this program,\u201d the governor said. \u201cWe now have 46 of 80 approved businesses up and operating. It includes 13 cultivators, two safety compliance facilities, five processors and those 26 dispensaries.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe moved quickly to bring relief to Kentuckians, and we\u2019ve always put the patient first,\u201d Beshear said, noting what he called \u201camazing progress\u201d in providing legal access to medical cannabis.<\/p>\n
Last week, Beshear separately celebrated the fact that medical marijuana dispensaries are now open across all 11 licensing regions of the state<\/a> following the opening of Sunnyside Dispensary in Floyd County.<\/p>\n \u201cNow every qualifying Kentuckian has access to safe, non-addictive relief close to home,\u201d the governor said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve hit milestone after milestone, and access continues to expand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n According to data Beshear cited at his latest press conference, more than 29,000 Kentuckians have now been approved for medical marijuana cards, and more than 500 medical practitioners are registered to recommend cannabis.<\/p>\n \u201cFolks suffering from serious conditions like PTSD, cancer, multiple sclerosis and more now have a safe alternative that can deliver relief,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Beshear said in August that\u00a0the state\u2019s efforts to get medical cannabis dispensaries open was approaching the \u201chalfway mark\u201d<\/a> to becoming \u201cfully operational.\u201d<\/p>\n He also recently said that hemp is \u201cimportant\u201d to Kentucky<\/a>, urging voters not to reelect any members of Congress who are seeking to ban it.<\/p>\n Beshear signed an executive order in June to broaden the list of health conditions that make patients eligible to legally obtain medical cannabis<\/a>.<\/p>\n But days later, House Majority Whip Jason Nemes (R) asked Attorney General Russell Coleman (R) to ensure that state agencies \u201cnot cooperate\u201d with the governor\u2019s marijuana directive<\/a>, which he called \u201cunlawful.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAny organization, any licensee, that participates in this unlawful expansion should be prosecuted,\u201d Nemes said during a legislative committee hearing. \u201cThis is not the way forward.\u201d<\/p>\n The governor pushed back, however, saying that the GOP lawmaker exhibited a \u201ccomplete lack of humanity.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s helping a lot of people, and I was really surprised to see an attack from one lawmaker who called on the attorney general to prosecute people dying of a terminal illness for securing medical cannabis,\u201d Beshear said. \u201cI mean, that\u2019s a complete lack of humanity. It is really low. I mean, an individual with ALS, you want to prosecute? That is certainly not leadership, and even for that individual, is a new record low.\u201d<\/p>\n After the legislature declined to take him up on a suggestion to expand the qualifying condition list this session, the governor used his authority to make it so patients with 15 additional health disorders\u2014including Parkinson\u2019s disease, HIV\/AIDS, sickle cell anemia, fibromyalgia, arthritis and glaucoma\u2014can also be certified for medical marijuana access.<\/p>\n Beshear also rescinded an earlier executive order he issued in 2022 through which he offered to provide pardons for any patients who got into trouble for possessing medical cannabis<\/a> that they purchased at a legal dispensary in a neighboring state.<\/p>\n The more recent executive order on qualifying conditions is a follow up to a medical marijuana legalization law Beshear signed in 2023. The state\u2019s first medical cannabis dispensary opened in December<\/a> of last year.<\/p>\n The governor in February announced that cannabis gummies are available for purchase in the state\u2019s licensed dispensaries<\/a>.<\/p>\n Beshear in January said he\u2019s \u201cnot satisfied\u201d with the time it\u2019s taken to launch the state\u2019s medical marijuana program<\/a>\u2014but that he anticipates the pace of patient access would \u201cpick up significantly\u201d in 2026.<\/p>\n In recognition of the delayed implementation, he signed an executive order to waive renewal fees for patients who get their cards<\/a> so that they don\u2019t get charged again before retailers open.<\/p>\n Beshear separately announced last year that the state had launched a new online directory that lets people see where medical cannabis dispensaries will be opening<\/a>\u00a0near them.<\/p>\n He emphasized that the state has been working to deliver access to patients \u201cat the earliest possible date,\u201d and that involved expediting the licensing process. Last year, the governor also ceremonially awarded the commonwealth\u2019s first medical marijuana cards<\/a>.<\/p>\n During the November 2024 election, Kentucky also saw more than 100 cities and counties\u00a0approve local ordinances to allow medical cannabis businesses in their jurisdictions<\/a>. The governor said\u00a0the election results demonstrate that \u201cthe jury is no longer out\u201d on the issue<\/a>\u00a0that is clearly supported by voters across partisan and geographical lines.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, legislature\u2019s Interim Joint Committee on Health Services held a hearing in July on a proposal to allow terminally ill patients to use medical marijuana in hospitals<\/a>.<\/p>\n Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Kentucky\u2019s Medical Marijuana Program Is \u2018Over Halfway\u2019 Toward Being Fully Rolled Out, Governor Says<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Kentucky\u2019s governor is continuing to tout the buildout of the state\u2019s medical marijuana program following the opening of the 26th operational dispensary last week. \u201cMy administration worked hard to bring medical cannabis to Kentucky, and our hard work paid off,\u201d Gov. Andy Beshear (D) said on Wednesday, noting that heContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":459,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87228"}],"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\/459"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87228"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87229,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87228\/revisions\/87229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Kentucky\u2019s Medical Marijuana Program Is \u2018Over Halfway\u2019 Toward Being Fully Rolled Out, Governor Says<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"