Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear this week issued an executive order to clarify the conditions that qualify a patient to use medical cannabis, saying the state program’s ambiguity “prevented too many people from receiving help.” With his executive order, the governor calls on state medical cannabis regulators to recognize 15 additional qualifying conditions, including sickle cell anemia, ALS, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s, terminal illness, and more.
Beshear noted that the Office of Medical Cannabis, the Team Kentucky Medical Cannabis Workgroup, and the Board of Physicians and Advisors had requested that the state legislature pass legislation to include the ailments in the state’s medical cannabis program. Despite the requests, lawmakers took no action on the proposals.
“The law is meant to provide a safe alternative form of pain relief for Kentuckians suffering, yet the law’s lack of clarity prevented too many people from receiving help. This step makes the law more clear,” Beshear said in a June 2 statement. “With the progress we’ve made to reduce overdose deaths and fight addiction, it’s important we continue to offer an alternative to dangerous and addictive opioids. This emergency regulation will help more Kentuckians reclaim their lives through safe, nonaddictive medical cannabis.”
Beshear’s Action Adds 15 Additional Qualifying Conditions
This week’s clarification adds 15 additional qualifying conditions to Kentucky law, including terminal illness, sickle cell anemia, ALS, Parkinson’s disease, HIV, AIDS, Huntington’s disease, muscular dystrophy, cachexia or wasting syndrome, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, neuropathies, severe arthritis, fibromyalgia, and glaucoma.
“We recognize that the state’s list of qualifying conditions can be a bit confusing. For example, some of the conditions include chronic nausea, muscle spasms, and chronic pain, which are, of themselves, not a condition but an underlying symptom of other serious medical conditions like ALS, like Crohn’s disease, like sickle cell and some terminal illnesses,” Beshear said at a press conference on Tuesday, according to a report from the Kentucky Lantern. “These conditions might not be listed in the statute itself, but the underlying symptoms of them are right there in the wording. So, we want to make this more clear, and we want to help more people.”
Medical Cannabis Advocates Applaud Governor’s Executive Order
Linda McClain, M.D., a member of the Board of Physicians and Advisors, joined Beshear at a press conference on Tuesday to announce the executive order.
“I’ve had the privilege of being a part of this program from the beginning, the implementation, as well as the establishment of the program. The board’s mission is to ensure that all Kentuckians have safe and reliable access to medical cannabis,” said McClain. “I’m very proud of the progress we’ve made toward that goal, however, more work is needed. Today’s announcement is a huge step in reducing, hopefully, the patient’s confusion as to whether their diagnosis meets the current list of conditions.”
Rebecca Seavers, president of the Sickle Cell Association of Kentuckiana, whose daughter and granddaughter suffer from the genetic disorder, was also on hand for the announcement.
“Sickle cell causes sudden, excruciating pain anywhere the blood flows, for hours, days or even longer,” Seavers said. “Right now, in Kentucky and across the country, opioids are prescribed for sickle cell patients. I want to thank Gov. Beshear for taking this action that will provide sickle cell patients more safe options. Thousands of Kentuckians, the Sickle Cell Association of Kentuckiana and myself are proud to support this step.”
Beshear spearheaded the legalization of medical cannabis with a 2022 executive order that created the Team Kentucky Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee. After a series of town hall meetings across the state, the committee released its findings showing a broad majority of Kentuckians supported the legalization of medical cannabis.
The committee’s work led to the passage of Senate Bill 47 in 2023, which legalized medical cannabis for Kentuckians, effective January 1, 2025. To date, Kentucky has 32 medical cannabis businesses up and running and over 500 registered medical cannabis practitioners. More than 23,700 Kentuckians have been approved for medical cannabis cards.
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