Kentucky and cannabis have been close friends since 1775, when the first cannabis fibers were cultivated in Danville, Kentucky. Throughout the 19th century, Kentucky had garnered a reputation as one of the most prolific producers of cannabis plants in the world. By the turn of the 20th century, the Bluegrass State was as synonymous with the cultivation of these plants as Nebraska is to corn. The city of Louisville had a few vendors who sold marijuana cigarettes throughout town as recently as 1930. Even today, Kentucky is one of the highest producing states for marijuana cultivation in the United States, and it isn’t even legal on a state level. So why is it that of all states, Kentucky is the one to pass one of the most restrictive medical marijuana bills in the country?
Kentucky, Cannabis, and Conservative Politics
In recent years, Kentucky has been trying to lead the charge in non-THC hemp production. Hemp and CBD have become more popular due to the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized the production and sale of these products. Now it seems hemp farms are popping up all over the place. However, Kentucky’s widely conservative government, with the only real exception of the Democratic governor Andy Beshear, has been very cautious about dipping their toes into any kind of marijuana legalization, even medical cannabis.
Fortunately for Kentuckians, there is a small bit of hope. Last month the state House passed a medical cannabis bill that has yet to be voted on by the Senate. It is the first bill of its kind adopted by a legislative body in Kentucky but also happens to be the most conservative medical cannabis bill to ever pass in any state legislative body in the United States. Let’s get into how and why that is.
House Bill 136 – The Kentucky Medical Marijuana Bill
House Bill 136 passed by a vote of 65-30 on February 20 and has yet to be taken out of the Senate committee it was assigned to. State Senator Whitney Westerfield (R), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, stated: “I know it won’t get a hearing until I’m O.K. with it…” For this lawmaker, MORE restrictions need to be made to go along with restrictive measures on who can get a prescription and how often it must be renewed.
Currently, the only qualifying conditions written into the bill are chronic pain, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and nausea or vomiting. Patients must pay a $60 fee and have a written certification from a physician or APRN with whom they have a “bona fide” relationship. Patients may only have a 30-day supply at a time of cannabis and a 10-day supply on their person, which will later be determined by regulators.
Smoking and home cultivation are prohibited, vaporizers are only allowed if you’re over 21, and employers are allowed to keep testing and firing employees for using cannabis.
With Coronavirus causing a pandemic across the country, it is, of course, not the best time to gather a governing body. However, they will still be legislating and gathering in Frankfort to end the legislative session. When the time comes, if the time comes, co-author of the bill Rep. Jason Nemes (R) has said he will be ready. Nemes was able to gather a slight majority of Republican support in the state House. Still, garnering support in the state Senate will be another ordeal.
These are mostly the same legislators that were in charge under the previous governor of Kentucky, Matt Bevin. While Bevin was disliked by both sides of the aisle, conservative legislators had no complaints when he declared he would never sign a bill legalizing marijuana. The Kentucky state government was flipped mainly to a conservative majority back in 2015, and it has only become more conservative since then. The 2019 election saw the end of Bevin’s reign as governor. Still, every other statewide Republican was able to win their races in November. Kentucky still remains a mostly conservative state. However, Rep. Nemes shows a different part of Kentucky that is overlooked in this conversation.
It’s undeniable that Kentuckians like cannabis. Rep. Nemes knows it, and those state senators realize it as well. Depending on the study, between 60-90% of Kentuckians favor legalizing cannabis in some form or another. As a lifelong Kentuckian who’s lived all over the state, I can say with confidence that we love marijuana. If not for the ridiculous crackdown all throughout the mid-to-late 20th century, including and extending through the war on drugs, Kentucky and cannabis would be as iconic a duo as Kentucky and coal.
Combatting Kentucky’s Opioid Crisis With Cannabis
Speaking of the war on drugs – not only did it lead to the mass incarceration of non-violent offenders (mainly men from minority communities), but these policies also played a hand in Kentucky’s opioid crisis. Kentucky is one of the most heavily devastated by this crisis, and any sort of cannabis legalization is going to help combat it, according to various studies in recent years. In 2017, Kentucky had almost twice as many deaths per 100,000 people than the national average. Heroin makes up the least of these deaths (269 of 1,160), whereas Rx and synthetic opioids made up over 75% of those deaths.
While many in the state see this as a way to save others, some like Rep. Stan Lee (R) says, “It’s a drug. And I don’t think it’s good for our society. I don’t think it’s good for our people.” I would like to know – what is good for our Commonwealth, Rep. Lee? Being an epicenter for the opioid crisis, which further builds on negative stereotypes about our people and state, not to mention kills many of our citizens? Or legalizing a plant that has historically supported the agricultural economy of this state? I know what the people of Kentucky believe regarding this issue, and maybe you should too.
According to comments made by Senator Westerfield, some of the biggest hold-ups are the restrictions on who can access medical cannabis, what constitutes a caregiver, and whether this is a slippery slope to recreational marijuana. Government overreach and over-regulation has always been a concern for Kentuckians, as there are influential lobbying groups in Kentucky that have had a significant hold on politics here.
Horse racing, tobacco, and big pharma have a lot of power in the Bluegrass state. The possibility of the tobacco or pharma industry coming in and writing the rules for or just taking over the cannabis industry would negate the reasons for doing it in the first place. Unfortunately, as a lifelong Kentuckian, I know how situations like this usually turn out, and it would surprise me if they voted on the bill by the April 15th midnight deadline. Only time will tell.
Article by Jonathan Howard