Regulatory change provides alternative to deadly opioids; continued access to safe products

FRANKFORT, KY - On July 17, 2024, Gov. Andy Beshear sent a letter to Anne Milgram, administrator for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), expressing his support of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ recommendation that the DEA ease restrictions on marijuana.

The move would reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. The Governor wrote that the step would help patients have an alternative to deadly opioids and continued access to safe products and help communities further reduce crime and illicit drug use. Rescheduling would also create fair markets by placing cannabis businesses on the same economic footing as any other business and provide real opportunities for research on marijuana.

“As Governor, my job is to move our state forward,” Gov. Beshear said. “Rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III is a significant, common-sense step forward for all Kentuckians, especially those with significant medical conditions.”

As a Schedule I drug, marijuana is currently in the same classification as heroin and LSD as having “no current accepted medical use.” It places marijuana as more dangerous than Schedule II drugs such as fentanyl, oxycodone, methadone, methamphetamine and Vicodin.

“But the jury is no longer out on marijuana: It has medical uses and is currently being used for medical purposes,” Gov. Beshear said in the letter. “The recognition is overwhelming – and bipartisan. For example, I signed a medical marijuana law that passed with support from Republican legislative supermajorities and a Democratic Governor.”

Gov. Beshear noted his work to fight the opioid epidemic began during his time as Kentucky’s attorney general. In that role, he filed more individual opioid lawsuits than any other attorney general, and that work has now helped the state secure over $900 million from companies that preyed on Kentucky communities.

The letter also outlines that nationally, opioid use killed 80,000 Americans in 2022. In the same year, marijuana use alone killed zero Americans. The Governor said that is why Kentucky’s Office of Drug Control Policy, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities all support rescheduling.

Today’s letter builds on the work Gov. Beshear has done to provide access to medical cannabis to Kentuckians who have certain chronic conditions.

Last year, Gov. Beshear signed historic legislation, Senate Bill 47, which legalized medical cannabis in Kentucky and established the Kentucky Medical Cannabis Program. Currently the team is working to implement the program, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2025.

In the letter the Governor wrote, “We look forward to seeing how safe medical marijuana products will reduce the suffering and improve the lives of tens of thousands of Kentuckians when our program launches in 2025.”

In July, the Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis announced it was accepting applications for cannabis business licenses through the online Business Licensing Application portal. The portal will remain open from July 1, 2024, until Aug. 31, 2024, for application submissions.

In April, the Governor signed House Bill 829, which, among other provisions, moved up the timeline for cannabis business licensing.

In January, the Kentucky Medical Cannabis Program filed 10 new regulations, which provide direction for how medical cannabis businesses, including cultivators, processors, producers, dispensaries and safety compliance facilities will operate in the commonwealth. For more information about the Medical Cannabis Program, including information about proposed regulations, visit kymedcan.ky.gov.

In November 2022, Gov. Beshear signed an executive order allowing Kentuckians with certain severe medical conditions, and who meet specific requirements, to possess and use small amounts of legally purchased medical cannabis to treat their medical conditions. That order began Jan. 1, 2023.