A Kentucky legislative committee voted on Thursday to advance a bill to legalize medical cannabis two days after the legislation gained the endorsement of a key state senator. The measure, House Bill 136, was passed with strong bipartisan support by the House Judiciary Committee with a vote of 15-1.
Under the measure from Republican Representative Jason Nemes, patients with one or more specified medical conditions would be able to receive a recommendation to use cannabis medicinally. Qualifying conditions to use medical cannabis include multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, epilepsy and nausea. Nemes told his colleagues that the bill would help sick people.
“I think the debate is over, with respect to whether or not medical cannabis helps people,” Nemes said. “I don’t think there’s anybody, even the staunchest opponents, who say it doesn’t help some people.”
The legislation also establishes a regulatory framework to govern medical cannabis cultivators, processors, dispensaries and testing laboratories. The Kentucky House of Representatives passed similar legislation in 2020 but the bill failed to gain the approval of the state Senate.
At Thursday’s committee hearing, Nemes said that he is not in favor of legalizing recreational weed and was once opposed to legalizing medical cannabis. But after talking to patients and experts, he has changed his stance on the issue.
“I’ll never forget this mother leaning forward and touching my hand. She told me what it meant to her child, and they all went around the room and said what it meant to them,” Nemes told his colleagues on the committee. “And I thought, here’s good people, real good people, and I disagree with them. So, I was starting to question it. I talked to physicians, did a lot of research