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FRANKFORT, Ky. (March 12, 2024) — Last year, the Kentucky General Assembly passed legislation to allow Kentuckians with specific medical conditions access to medicinal cannabis in 2025.
The Kentucky House approved House Bill 829 Tuesday to make updates to the upcoming program. The bill’s primary sponsor House Majority Whip Jason Nemes, R-Middletown, said the need to clean up last year’s Senate Bill 47 is not unexpected.
A major provision of HB 829 would address medicinal cannabis use for K-12 students. Nemes said the bill would allow public and private schools to opt out of the program. If a school district chooses to allow students to use medicinal cannabis at school, the district would need to establish a policy.
“If they don’t opt out of the program, that also requires them to have a mechanism by which they would administer the medication whether it’s a school nurse, a different school employee or a parent,” Nemes said.
Additionally, HB 829 would:
- Allow local governments to apply a small local fee to the program.
- Allow local governments to opt out of the program if the decision is made before a licensee is approved.
- Prioritize Kentucky hemp businesses.
- Clarify the powers of the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services to inspect medicinal cannabis businesses.
- Remove provisional licenses.
- Ensure the program can begin Jan. 1, 2025, by starting the licensing application process earlier.
- Require a pharmacist consultation to ensure medicinal cannabis won’t have a negative reaction with any of the patient’s other prescriptions.
House Minority Whip Rachel Roberts, D-Newport, questioned the need for a pharmacist consultation before a person could be approved to access medicinal cannabis.
“(Some studies) do state that currently, cannabis drug interactions are mostly theoretical or come from case reports due to the lack of clinical trials,” she said. “… I think that this is duplicative. I think that we should trust the prescribing physicians.”
Rep. Danny Bentley, R-Russell, worked on the pharmacy provision of the bill with Nemes. He said the pharmacy consultation is needed because cannabis can have a negative interaction with certain blood thinners.
“We believe that this consultation will save lives,” Bentley said.
On use of medicinal cannabis in public schools, Rep. Sarah Stalker, D-Louisville, said she doesn’t think public school districts should be able to opt out of allowing students to be given medicinal cannabis at school.
“This doesn’t feel like we’re taking care of Kentuckians,” she said. “I just want to remind this body that these are very vulnerable individuals – people who are sick – and we’re making it harder for them to access medicine that could ease their quality of life.”
Rep. Josh Bray, R-Mount Vernon, said he supports a school district’s decision to opt out of the program under HB 829. He said some districts have liability concerns.
“This was one of my biggest concerns last year after speaking to my schools because they didn’t want to be put in the position of administering medication that didn’t have instructions, didn’t have dosage, that they have no clue about,” Bray said.
House Minority Caucus Chair Cherlynn Stevenson, D-Lexington, said she feels HB 829 is making access to medicinal cannabis more restrictive. She said she hopes the general assembly considers a proposed Senate bill that would expand the list of qualifying conditions.
Nemes said he understands some of his colleagues disagree with the legislation, but HB 829 is needed to clarify and “tighten things up.”
“It is important we take these steps to further protect the patient,” he added.
The House passed HB 829 by a 66-30 vote. It now heads to the Senate for consideration.
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