GOP Bill Seeks To Expand Kentucky's Medical Marijuana Eligibility, Despite Pushback From Colleagues

State Sen. Stephen West filed a bill to increase the number of eligible conditions for medical marijuana from six to 21, closely resembling the recommendations made by Gov. Andy Beshear and two committees that studied the issue.

West, one of the Republican supporters of medical marijuana legalization, said he's been working on the bill to expand qualifying conditions with Sam Flynn, the executive director of the Kentucky Medical Cannabis Program, reported WKYU on Monday.

"They were working in conjunction with us," West said. "We had multiple meetings during the interim. It’s with our blessing. I mean, it’s kind of a joint effort."

West's bill is viewed as a positive development among patient advocates and businesses looking to potentially invest in Kentucky's medical marijuana program, which will go into effect in January 2025.

That said, the bill will need support among the GOP caucus, which is divided over legalizing medical marijuana.

One GOP State Representative weighed in with a bill to not change the number of eligible medical conditions but conceded, sort of, to science

"If it’s appropriate that the market expands because that’s what the science tells us, then we’ll do that — increase conditions," said Jason Nemes. "But if it doesn’t, then we won’t. We’re not going to do it just to give them more customers."

Why Introduce The Same Bill Again?

While West said he agreed with adding nearly all of the conditions suggested by the governor in January, he noted there could be GOP legislators who supported the bill last year but who now object to some of them. West said the bill would likely be amended once it reaches the committee, so resubmitting makes sense.

"To me, those (conditions) all seem reasonable. But my view, my version of reasonable may be different than the other members," West said.

When Beshear introduced his bill expanding the list of qualifying conditions, he said it would increase the number of Kentuckians eligible for medical marijuana by 437,000.

West's new bill includes the following conditions: HIV/AIDS, ALS/Lou Gehrig’s disease, various forms of arthritis, cachexia, fibromyalgia, glaucoma, hepatitis C, Huntington’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome (including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis), muscular dystrophy, neuropathies, Parkinson’s disease, sickle cell disease and any terminal illness.

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