As the state of Kentucky’s medical cannabis program continues to develop, Governor Andy Beshear says he is pushing lawmakers to extend access to the program further.
The Office of Medical Cannabis sent a letter Thursday to the state’s legislative leadership recommending the General Assembly expand the list of qualifying medical conditions for a medical cannabis card.
“The recommendations include serious conditions like ALS, Parkinson’s, Crohn’s disease, sickle cell anemia, fibromyalgia, glaucoma, and terminal illnesses among others,” Beshear said. “In most other states that have a medical marijuana program, these are conditions that are covered, and they are conditions that our board of physicians and advisors have recommended as proper.”
That’s the governor during Thursday’s Team Kentucky Update. He said expanding the list to include those conditions would benefit nearly 430,000 Kentuckians.
To date, more than 18,500 Kentuckians have been approved for medical cannabis cards, and more than 500 practitioners have been registered to issue certifications. Beshear said steady progress has also been made on the business side of the rollout.
“Kentucky now has five cultivators (that’s the groups that grow the plant), two safety compliance facilities making sure that the levels are appropriate, one processor (those are the ones that can turn it into other products like gummies) and seven dispensaries which is where people that have the card that are eligible under the law can purchase medical marijuana,” Beshear said.
One more cultivator, two more processors, and two more dispensaries are scheduled for inspections this month.
“As the supply chain expands, patients are starting to see more options come on line, so we can announce that gummies are now on the market in Kentucky,” Beshear said.
Learn more about the state medical cannabis program at kymedcan.ky.gov.
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