In Kentucky, both recreational and medical pot are prohibited, but that may be improving in the near future. House Measure 136 was passed 65 to 30 in early 2020, marking the first time a medicinal marijuana bill had been brought up by the whole House.

Medicinal cannabis consumer limitations, as well as usage site bans and a restriction on consuming medical marijuana, were recommended in the Kentucky pot legislation bill. Due to the epidemic, HB 136 stagnated in the Senate; nevertheless, the bill’s proponent, Rep. Jason Nemes, has said that he would reintroduce it in the 2021 General Meeting.

So, if you plan to travel to Kentucky to explore more about the cannabis culture in the state, you must understand first how law works for the pot industry. In this article, you’ll discover more about cannabis status in Kentucky. Read on.

What the Law Says About Cannabis in KY?

While recreational marijuana is banned in Kentucky, non-psychoactive CBD oil is legal, and Kentucky has a reputation for producing industrial hemp for fiber dating back to 1775. Thus, more changes on the law happened.

Governor Steve Beshear signed the bill in April 2014 allowing people to utilize non-psychoactive cannabidiol variants with a physician’s approval for the treatment of epilepsy in scientific studies at the University of Kentucky, but the law did not present procedures to legitimately manufacture or distribute CBD.

Both House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 40 suggested developing a medicinal cannabis environment in Kentucky in 2015, however neither bill got out of committee. The anti-cannabis National Marijuana Initiative and the Kentucky Baptist Convention claimed credit for the bills’ failure and pledged to fight medical cannabis legislation in 2016.

“The final end game for advocates of – and I don’t even like to call it medical pot – supporters of marijuana as medication is not to legitimize marijuana as medicine but to openly legalize recreational use of marijuana,” said NMI coordinator Ed Shemelya.

Furthermore, House Bill 136 was passed 65 to 30 on February 20, 2020. This was the first time a complete House of Representatives debated a medicinal marijuana measure. The law sets limitations on who may get medicinal marijuana or where it should be used, as well as the prohibition of medical marijuana smoking.

The COVID-19 epidemic caused it to stall in the Senate. Rep. Jason Nemes of Louisville, the bill’s author, has said that he will reintroduce the bill in the General Assembly in 2021.

A Ray of Sunshine for Recreational Cannabis Use

House Bill 461, also known as the Responsible Cannabis Use Bill, was introduced in order to generate additional tax income from marijuana, and to aid chronic condition patients relieve their symptoms and to allow criminal background clearance for people convicted of minor marijuana offenses.

Moreover, for individuals who have a $250 domestic grower’s licence, the proposal would allow them to cultivate up to five healthy and five undeveloped plants at home. According to the plan, 25% of cannabis-derived profits would go toward treating addiction and social equality initiatives. The balance would’ve been put in the general revenue of the state.

Allison Adams, the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky’s Vice President for Policy, has stated that the group is neutral on marijuana legalization but wishes to keep the community notified of any unexpected repercussions. “If it passes, we at the center simply want to make sure it’s done correctly,” Adams added.

“We want to make sure that the packaging or the manner it’s presented safeguards our children from accidental consumption. We want to make sure that advertisements aren’t used to initiate young people.”

Both proposals are currently anticipated to be debated for the duration of the 2021 legislative session. Both proposals, however, have a long way to go because they must pass both the senate and congress. House Concurrent Resolution 5, which was presented in January 2021 and asks federal officials to speed study into the effectiveness and safety of cannabis use for medical uses, is another plan.

Cannabis Cultivation in Kentucky

Despite the fact that Kentucky’s pot restrictions are now criticized, the Bluegrass State is the third-largest cannabis grower in the United States. This is owing in part to the availability of deep forestland, notably the approximately 600,000-acre Daniel Boone National Forest.

Cannabis plants totaling 206,908 were detected and destroyed at this location in 2003. Prior cannabis laws, such as the Kentucky Cannabis Freedom Act of 2016, was presented but failed to attract support.

State Representative John Yarmuth, the chair of the Senate Budget Committee, recently acquired investments in Canopy Growth Corporation, Aurora Cannabis, and Tilray, highlighting Kentucky’s ties to politicians and marijuana.

Yarmuth had signed on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 3884, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which legalized cannabis, prior to the stock transactions. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives on December 4th.

Yarmuth’s spokesman claimed the Kentucky Democrat obeyed all House regulations, adding that the stock trades occurred after he became a co-sponsor. “After four states legalized recreational pot use in November elections, Congressman Yarmuth bought the stocks. In an email to the Washington Examiner, he said, “He was upfront about it and met all House Ethics and disclosure requirements regulations.”

Researchers from Harvard Medical School and the University of Kentucky examined the link among medical-use and adult-use cannabis legislation and opioid medications for people around ages 18 to 64 participating in employer-sponsored health care plans.

“The introduction of marijuana laws and recreational marijuana laws decreased morphine milligram counterparts per enrollee by 7% and 13%, respectively,” the authors said. Adult-use access was mostly linked with decreases among youth and middle-aged participants, whereas medical pot access was primarily associated with decreases among older enrollees.

Those who said they were in near vicinity to retail pot sales saw their prescription opioids dosages drop by the most. “Our findings imply that both MMLs and RMLs have the ability to lessen opioid dispensing in the private coverage demographic, particularly in the middle-aged population,” the researchers concluded. The study’s findings are comparable to those of numerous others.

Final Thoughts

In Kentuky, recreational cannabis is still prohibited. If you’re a patient with qualifying critical conditions, you can get your medical cannabis legally. But, cannabis consumers in and around the state are still hoping for more improvements on the law as more US states are legalizing the plant.