Kentucky Marijuana Legalization Bill Heads To Senate After House Vote

A bill to legalize medical marijuana was passed by the Kentucky House of Representatives on Thursday and is now heading to the Senate, Marijuana Moment reported.

Sponsored by Rep. Jason Nemes (R), the measure was approved in a 59-34 vote just a week after the Kentucky House Judiciary Committee gave it the green light.

A similar version of the bill did not pass the Senate in 2020 even though it soundly passed in the House. Nemes then reintroduced the legislation for the 2021 session, which also didn’t advance further.

“This is Kentucky grown, Kentucky processed, Kentucky tested,” Nemes said ahead of the vote. “Grown by Kentucky farmers on Kentucky land with Kentucky seeds for our Kentucky brothers and sisters and the Kentucky patients from across the Commonwealth.”

For months, the lawmaker worked to build support for the measure, which recently earned the endorsement of Senate Judiciary Chairman Whitney Westerfield (R), who said earlier she will support the House bill, despite her personal reservations regarding the marijuana reform.

What’s In It?

HB 136 seeks to establish a program that would prohibit both home cultivation of marijuana and the smoking of cannabis flower.

Under the bill, whole-plant products would be allowed, but patients would be required to vaporize them.

Patients can register for a medical marijuana certificate if they are being treated for the following conditions: cancer, epilepsy and seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis, PTSD, chronic nausea and cyclical vomiting as well as chronic, severe, intractable or debilitating pain.

The measure would also allow physician assistants to apply for certifications to recommend cannabis. It will give licensing boards permission to “intervene” if a doctor is impaired by cannabis and revise language related to fees for authorization to recommend medical marijuana and provide “medicinal cannabis consultation services to cardholders.”

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