FRANKFORT- Gov. Andy Beshear is issuing two executive orders to allow some Kentuckians with medical needs the ability to possess and use medical marijuana in Kentucky.
Beshear is pointing to the Kentucky General Assembly to take action and pass full legalization for medical cannabis, but in the meantime, he is allowing the use of the controlled substance with some caveats.
The governor is also using his executive authority to set up a regulatory structure to allow the sale of Delta-8, a compound containing THC already being legally sold in Kentucky. The governor hopes the executive order will serve as a guide to fully enact access to medical marijuana being sold in Kentucky if passed by the Kentucky General Assembly.
Beshear called the General Assembly’s inability to pass medical cannabis legislation has led to an “unfair and untenable reality.”
Polling shows 90 percent of Kentuckians are in favor of medical marijuana use in the state. Thirty-seven other states have some form of medical marijuana access, Beshear said.
Medically retired Air Force officer Jared Bonvell said marijuana gave him life again after years of struggling with PTSD. Beshear also introduced Craig a politically conservative Kentuckian and owner of a Western Kentucky construction company injured in the cleanup from the tornados said THC, a compound found in marijuana, eased his pain and suffering.
Beshear said his actions are not a substitute for legislative action from the General Assembly, a body controlled by Republican supermajorities.
The Democratic governor is seeking a second term in office next year.
