A medical cannabis bill in Kentucky has been stalled by the House Judiciary Committee but rather than reject the measure, the panel has left the option open to reconsider the legislation this session, the Courier Journal reports. Rep. Jason Nemes said if the committee had voted on the measure it would have been defeated, but the decision by the panel to pass over the bill “keeps it alive.”
House Bill 166 would allow patients with 22 debilitating medical conditions to access the program.
The qualifying conditions covered by the legislation include:
- AIDS
- amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease)
- cancer
- chronic or debilitating disease
- cognitive disorders
- Crohn’s disease
- cognitive disorders
- fibromyalgia
- glaucoma
- hepatitis C
- irritable bowel syndrome
- movement disorder
- multiple sclerosis
- neurodevelopmental disorders
- peripheral neuropathy
- post-traumatic stress disorder
- seizures
- severe, debilitating pain
- severe nausea
- terminal illness
- traumatic brain injury
- wasting syndrome
Jaime Montalvo, president of Kentuckians for Medical Marijuana, said that while the committee has tabled the bill for now, advocates have “never had this momentum before.” Nemes said that lawmakers could consider amending the bill in order to make it more palatable to opponents.
If the measure is approved, Kentucky would be the 30th state to allow access to medical cannabis.