The Kentucky General Assembly convened for the first day of the 2022 legislative session Tuesday and legalizing medical marijuana in the Commonwealth is one issue that will likely be up for debate.
Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said he remains open to discussing the issue but personally has concerns about advancing legislation.
Stivers said has seen studies about the therapeutic benefits of medicinal marijuana, but said the ones he’s seen have had small sample sizes or were conducted over a short period of time.
“This is not a drug that’s a panacea to cure everything, but if there were more studies and the FDA or John Hopkins or somebody like that would come out and show how it should be used for medicinal and therapeutic values, then I think it would be an easier path forward,” Stivers said.
He also is worried about how legalizing marijuana for medicinal use could impact Kentucky’s crime rate.
Senate Democratic Leader Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville, said he thinks the legalization of medical marijuana is long overdue.
“It is absolutely crazy that we don’t have medical marijuana in Kentucky,” McGarvey said. “It has overwhelming support by the people. It’s passed with bipartisan support in the House of Representatives and it was blocked by the Senate. That block in the Senate needs to go down. I think we can pass it this year, we should pass it this year and even the governor has been leaning on this which gives it a better chance.” [Read more at WHAS 11]
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