Governor Andy Beshear says he’s confident he’s on solid legal ground in allowing Kentuckians suffering from severe conditions to legally possess medical marijuana.
On Thursday the governor defended medical cannabis as a viable alternative to addictive medications in a state ravaged by the opioid crisis. During his weekly Team Kentucky briefing Thursday, Governor Beshear said the people of Kentucky want access to medical cannabis.
“Because the legislature refused to listen to the people and ultimately pass medical cannabis, we spent a significant amount of time making sure that our group, the Team Kentucky Medical Cannabis Advisory Council, did just that.”
The governor said the legislature’s failure to make medical cannabis legal in their last session prompted his action.
“Now the fact that the Legislature hasn’t passed a full-blown system for medical marijuana requires, not only that I do this, but also makes it challenging in how we implement it. The answer to any of those challenges is they come in, in January and pass the full thing.”
Beshear said once that happens, he would be happy to rescind his executive orders. The governor has been criticized by some of his Republican opponents. They say he has overstepped his legal authority.
**In a sea of partisan news, WEKU is your source for public service, fact-based journalism. Monthly sustaining donors are the top source of funding for this growing nonprofit news organization. Please join others in your community who support WEKU by making your donation.
