Trio of Kentuckians challenge the state's medical marijuana ban in court

Morgan Watkins | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Feds still believe marijuana is as dangerous as heroin Marijuana will remain a Schedule 1 substance under the Controlled Substances Act.

Three Kentuckians who rely on medical marijuana filed a lawsuit Wednesday that challenges the state's ban on that drug, which many people throughout the U.S. use for pain relief.

In their lawsuit, the trio - Dan Seum Jr. and Amy Stalker of Jefferson County and Danny Belcher of Bath County - explain how marijuana has helped them manage serious medical problems and argue that Kentucky's laws against possessing or trafficking in marijuana are unconstitutional when applied to people like them.

"Over half of the country allows patients suffering from chronic pain and other ailments to use cannabis instead of the often dangerous and addictive alternative of prescription pharmaceuticals," the lawsuit says. "Kentucky, however, treats its suffering citizens who turn to cannabis for medical purposes as criminals rather than patients in need of safe relief."

The plaintiffs are suing Gov. Matt Bevin and Attorney General Andy Beshear, who have opposed each other in multiple lawsuits over the governor's executive powers, in their official capacities.

Bevin's spokeswoman, Amanda Stamper, said in an email that the governor's office is reviewing the lawsuit. Beshear's spokesman, Terry Sebastian, said early Wednesday afternoon that their office hadn't received the lawsuit yet but plans to review it.

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In a radio interview last February, Bevin said he isn't opposed to the idea of medical marijuana as long as it is prescribed and administered the way pharmaceutical drugs are. "It has absolute medicinal value," the governor said, although he pointed out that it's up to the state legislature to decide this issue.

Although many states have embraced marijuana for medicinal purposes, the substance remains illegal at the federal level and is classified as a Schedule I drug with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.

Belcher, Seum and Stalker have different reasons for using marijuana medicinally, but their arguments against Kentucky's ban on it are in sync.

Seum - a former middle-school football coach and the son of a Republican state senator - has struggled with back problems for over 20 years, the lawsuit said. He began using marijuana after realizing, "to his horror," that he had become addicted to OxyContin, a powerful narcotic that was supposed to let him live a normal life but ended up negatively impacting his cognitive and motor skills instead.

Stalker endured "horrible" side effects, including seizures, from using pharmaceutical drugs she was prescribed to treat bipolar disorder and irritable bowel syndrome, but marijuana has been effective in treating those problems, according to the lawsuit. She used medical marijuana legally when she lived in Colorado and Washington but eventually moved back to Louisville, where it's illegal, to care for her mother.

Belcher, who served in the Vietnam War, has a compression fracture in his spine and struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism, the lawsuit said. He experienced disorientation and a low quality of life when taking pharmaceutical drugs, but using marijuana in the privacy of his home has helped him manage his PTSD and pain. He has been able to stop using alcohol too.

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The plaintiffs are challenging Kentucky's ban on medical marijuana at a time when the commonwealth is engulfed by an opioid addiction crisis, and their lawsuit addresses that issue.

Recent studies show marijuana is a safer alternative to prescription and illicit drugs, the lawsuit says, and states that allow medical marijuana have seen a drop in hospital admissions related to opioid abuse.

Under the Kentucky Constitution, the government has to have a good reason to prohibit citizens from doing something, said Dan Canon, the plaintiffs' attorney.

"In the case of our clients...if you try to find a good reason why they should not have access to safe, natural, non-addictive medicine but at the same time have virtually unfettered access to addictive pharmaceuticals like opioids, it’s hard to come up with any good reason - any rational basis - for that," Canon said.

Proponents of medical marijuana have heard lip service from legislators over the years, he said, but little has actually been done.

By broadly prohibiting citizens from using marijuana for medical purposes - which thousands of people do in their own homes - Kentucky is infringing on the right to personal privacy that is recognized in the state constitution, Canon said.

He also indicated that the commonwealth's ban on medical marijuana is impacting the doctor-patient relationship Kentuckians have. Seum, for example, has found that some medical professionals will not let him try alternative pain management options as long as he is using an illegal drug, according to the lawsuit.

The goal of this lawsuit is to eliminate the threat of prosecution that Kentuckians who use marijuana medicinally face, Canon said, although a ruling in their favor might only apply to the specific plaintiffs he represents.

Contact reporter Morgan Watkins at 502-875-5136 or mwatkins@courier-journal.com.

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