Gov. Andy Beshear signed an executive order on Nov. 15 allowing Kentuckians with at least one of 21 qualifying conditions to “possess and use” small amounts of medical marijuana within the state beginning Jan. 1.
Julie Cantwell, an Owensboro native, has been fighting for the legalization of medical marijuana in Kentucky for nine years. She is a co-founder of Kentucky Moms for Medical Cannabis and a board member on the Team Kentucky Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee.
“My son Preston has drug-resistant epilepsy where medication doesn’t work,” she said. “We have been dealing with this since he was four years old and he is now 22 years old.”
Cantwell said she began allowing her son to use medical marijuana from out of state.
“Since he started using it, he hasn’t had a seizure in three years and two months,” she said. “That’s how I got into this. I wanted to help my son stop having seizures and we just started looking into it.”
With the new executive order, Cantwell said Kentuckians won’t need a medical marijuana card to make a purchase.
“What they’ll need is just a letter from their doctor stating that they have one of 21 qualifying conditions,” she said.
Cantwell said after purchasing medical marijuana out of the state, Kentuckians will need to have the letter from a doctor and the receipt in their possession.
“The medical marijuana will need to be in the original packaging and it can’t be more than eight ounces,” she said.
Kentucky will not see medical marijuana dispensaries opening under this order, and Cantwell said that is because of state legislature.
“The legislature refuses to pass it,” she said. “In 2020 and 2022, we passed out of the House both times overwhelmingly, and the Senate has refused to take it up. You need the House and the Senate to pass a law.”
Cantwell said Beshear is “trying to do something” to help Kentuckians.
“We’re hoping this puts pressure on the legislature,” she said. “It’s basically like a pre-pardon. He’s saying you can go out of state and get what you need since the legislature won’t do anything to help these sick people.”
Cantwell said there are sick Kentuckians who qualify for medical marijuana in the state who cannot leave to purchase what they need out of state.
“We really need it here,” she said.
Cantwell said the state senate recently went on the caucus retreat and she has heard that senators have discussed medical marijuana, but doesn’t know if they will act on it.
If medical marijuana is passed in Kentucky, Cantwell said the state still has awhile to go before recreational marijuana is considered.
“Our state is nowhere near ready for recreational,” she said. “I believe that all cannabis use is medical, meaning that no matter what reason you’re using it for, you’re still getting medicinal benefits from it.”
Cantwell said legislatures say marijuana is a “gateway drug” but she believes otherwise.
“They sure don’t believe that alcohol is a gateway drug,” she said. “I think we all know alcohol is 100% a gateway drug. I think that’s their excuse, but what I really think it comes down to is money. I think they think marijuana would cut into bourbon and pharmaceutical money.”
Kentuckians will be able to purchase medical marijuana in any state that it is legal and bring it back to the state under the guidelines of the executive order, but Cantwell said it also depends on laws in legal states.
“Say that Ohio has a medical marijuana program but you have to be a resident to be able to purchase the medical marijuana there,” she said. “This kind of applies to recreational states. The Governor said you can go to a recreational state and get what you need and bring it back.”
Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and Virginia are the closest states to Kentucky that allow for recreational marijuana purchases.
“You’re probably not supposed to leave Illinois and travel across state lines so it doesn’t protect you from buying it and leaving Illinois with it, but it protects you when you get back into Kentucky,” Cantwell said.
Cantwell said she speaks with patients within the state who are already using medical marijuana for their conditions and she has found that many of them find relief in using it.
“And if they’re not using it, they know someone else who has used it and they believe that it could help their medical conditions,” she said. “I know for a fact that it helps with epilepsy. My mom has brain cancer so I would like for her to have legal access here. I know it helps with anxiety, depression, gastroparesis, you name it.”
Cantwell said medical marijuana is a “safer” alternative to opioids. On June 13, the state released its drug overdose report for 2021, which states that “2,250 Kentuckians died from drug overdoses in 2021, a 14.5% increase compared with the year prior.”
“I know of a lot of people that have gotten clean from opiates by using medical cannabis,” she said. “It is a much safer option.”
Cantwell said the Team Kentucky Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee has continued to meet with senators and that a medical marijuana bill will be introduced by Sen. Steve West, a Paris Republican.
“We’re going to work on selling that bill and get as many co-sponsors and ‘yes’ votes as we can,” she said.
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