Some Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature are calling for Kentucky to legalize medical marijuana this year and permit people to use the drug to treat a variety of health problems.
House Bill 166, which is sponsored by a bipartisan group of state lawmakers, would let qualifying patients diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition use the drug for health reasons.
To legally use medical marijuana, people would need a recommendation from a health practitioner who meets certain requirements and would have to obtain an identification card from the state. They also would have to adhere to some restrictions, including limits on how much cannabis they can have at one time.
Jaime Montalvo, of the nonprofit organization Kentuckians for Medicinal Marijuana, provided Courier Journal with a list of conditions that could be treated with medical marijuana under a substitute version of HB 166. State Rep. John Sims Jr., a Flemingsburg Democrat sponsoring the bill, said the substitute has been drafted but hasn’t officially been introduced yet.
Here are many of the conditions that could be treated with medical marijuana in Kentucky if this legislation wins the approval of enough state lawmakers:
- AIDS (Acquired immune deficiency syndrome)
- ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) (Lou Gehrig’s disease)