Kentucky governor backs longer list of conditions eligible for marijuana treatment
ABC News
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says access to medical marijuana in the state should expand to include more health conditions
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Access to medical marijuana in Kentucky should expand to include a longer list of severe health conditions, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday in advocating a change that would make hundreds of thousands more people eligible for treatment when the program begins next year.
The measure passed by the GOP-led legislature in 2023 specified that the eligible conditions include cancer, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, epilepsy, chronic nausea and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Democratic governor said the law is based on "providing relief to Kentuckians with severe medical conditions” and should therefore be expanded. He said the list of qualifying conditions should grow to include ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Chron’s disease, sickle cell anemia, cachexia or wasting syndrome, neuropathies, severe arthritis, hepatitis C, fibromyalgia, muscular dystrophy, Huntington’s disease, HIV, AIDS, glaucoma and terminal illness.
“This is a crucial set,” Beshear said at his weekly news conference. “While the legislation referenced several qualifying conditions, it left others out.”
The expansion would make an estimated 437,000 more Kentuckians eligible, he said.
