Kentucky state Sen. Perry Clark (D) has pre-filed legislation for the 2013 legislative session that would allow seriously ill patients to use medical marijuana.

“This is not a conservative issue or a liberal issue; it’s an issue of compassion,” Clark said in a statement. “Countless studies show that marijuana is effective at treating pain, nausea, loss of appetite, and other symptoms. If it was my family member, I would do anything to relieve their suffering.”

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The Kentucky lawmaker announced in July that he planned to introduce the Gatewood Galbraith Memorial Medical Marijuana Act, named after an attorney and marijuana advocate who died from pneumonia in January. Clark admitted it was “going to be very, very difficult” to pass the bill in the conservative state.

The legislation would allow those suffering from multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other serious medical conditions to use marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation. Patients would be allowed to possess up to 5 ounces of marijuana and cultivate up to five marijuana plants.

“This is not about legalizing marijuana,” Clark said. “It’s about getting government out of healthcare, and putting science in.”

[Medical marijuana via Andre Blais / Shutterstock]