“Kentuckians suffering from chronic and terminal conditions are going to be able to get the treatment they need without living in fear of a misdemeanor,” Gov. Beshear said in a prepared statement. “With 37 states already legalizing medical cannabis and 90% of Kentucky adults supporting it, I am doing what I can to provide access and relief to those who meet certain conditions and need it to better enjoy their life, without pain.”
“Between local and state efforts, these initiatives will affect over 18 million Americans.”
The Governor has proposed an amendment in the nature of a substitute to SB 591 which would create two new misdemeanors for personal marijuana possession.
“These legislative improvements will bring great relief to the thousands of Virginians waiting to access the medical cannabis program,” said JM Pedini, NORML’s Development Director and the Executive Director of Virginia NORML.
Representative Lynn Williams (D- HD 135) says, “Support for the issues around Maine’s medical marijuana program crosses many lines: Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Libertarians and Greens; Downeast, Southern and Northern Maine; rural and urban; twenty-somethings, retirees and all in-between. Medical marijuana is bringing Maine together even among those who have no involvement with it.”
With a vote of 59 to 34, members of the Kentucky House of Representatives have advanced House Bill 136 to the Senate for further consideration. The bill provides for the production and distribution of a limited variety of medical cannabis products to qualified patients, including those with PTSD, cancer, chronic pain, epilepsy or any other intractable seizure disorder; multiple sclerosis, muscle spasms, or spasticity; and nausea or vomiting.
Here is NORML’s weekly update on state legislative activity in Wisconsin, Washington, Tennessee, South Dakota, South Carolina, New York, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Iowa, Illinois, Hawaii, and Colorado.
“We are hopeful that Oklahomans will have the opportunity this fall to decide in favor of ending the failed policy of marijuana criminalization.If so, we are confident that they, like voters in other states have already done, will decide in favor of legalization,” said Jax James, NORML’s State Policy Manager.