Kentucky House Majority Whip Jason Nemes (R) is asking state Attorney General Russell Coleman to help state agencies “not cooperate” with Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s recent executive order to expand the state’s medical cannabis qualifying conditions list, the Kentucky Lantern reports. Nemes, who made the comments Tuesday during an Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary meeting, called the executive order an “unlawful expansion of conditions” that the General Assembly did “not approve of.”
“Any organization, any licensee, that participates in this unlawful expansion should be prosecuted. This is not the way forward.” — Nemes during the meeting via the Lantern
Beshear’s June 2 executive order added 15 new conditions to the medical cannabis qualifying conditions list, 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.
In a statement to the Lantern, Scottie Ellis, a spokeswoman for Beshear, said the “action only clarifies the law so people suffering with serious conditions like the chronic pain associated with terminal illness or sickle cell anemia know that they qualify under the existing statute.”
“Rep. Nemes’ comments do the opposite and cause more confusion and fear among Kentuckians,” she said in the statement. “It’s ultimately up to an individual’s doctor or APRN to make the decision of whether a person has a qualifying condition. The governor’s action helps doctors and nurses better understand the law.”
Nemes said Beshear’s action jeopardizes “the program in its entirety” because state lawmakers are “not playing around” when they say they “want the tightest medical marijuana program in the country.” He added that there is “a lawful process” to adding qualifying conditions and that the governor “skirted that law” because he had asked state lawmakers to expand the list, but they declined.
