Updates

House passes medical cannabis bill in 65-30 vote; pandemic derails progress in Senate

Last update: July 27, 2020

On February 20, 2020, the Kentucky House of Representatives voted 65-30 to pass a medical cannabis bill, HB 136. This was the first time the full House ever voted on the issue. Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic reached the U.S. at an inopportune time, and the Senate decided to focus their efforts on the budget and the commonwealth’s pandemic response before adjourning for the year in April.



This setback is a tremendous disappointment for patients, who have been working for many years to convince the legislature to pass medical cannabis legislation. Check back for updates and opportunities to move the issue forward.



Support for medical cannabis has been growing for several years. U.S. Senator Rand Paul added his support for the effort in March 2018. Gov. Andy Beshear was elected in November 2019 after supporting medical cannabis as a candidate.



A February 2020 Kentucky Health Issues Poll found that 90% of Kentuckians support medical cannabis.



Click here to send lawmakers a message urging them to support medical cannabis.

Senators advocate for bill to end cannabis prohibition in Kentucky

In 2020, Sen. Cluster Howard sponsored a bill to legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis. The bill did not receive a hearing or a vote.

This was only the latest in a long line of legalization bills that have been ignored by the Senate. Similar bills were sponsored in 2018 and 2019 by Sen. Dan Seum, who retired in late 2019, and by Sen. Perry Clark in 2017.



Although it may take some time for an adult-use legalization bill to pass in Kentucky, these senators and others have started a conversation that will eventually lead to the end of cannabis prohibition.

Lawmakers pass, governor signs limited CBD bill

In 2014, Kentucky then-Gov. Steve Beshear signed into law a proposal that was intended to allow patients to use cannabidiol (“CBD,” a non-psychoactive component of cannabis) if directed by a physician. The law went into effect immediately with his signature. Unfortunately, the legislation excludes the vast majority of patients who could benefit from medical cannabis.



For more information on this law, please see our summary of SB 124.

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