FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) – Legislation to legalize medical marijuana in Kentucky easily won passage in a House committee on Wednesday.
“We want to get this to as many sick people as we possibly can,” said Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville, the main sponsor of the bill, which has undergone much fine tuning before coming before the House Judiciary Committee.
“As part of that, 13.5 percent of the money that comes in goes to an indigent program to try to get more access to our poor people,” he said. “Obviously, insurance doesn’t cover this, nor does Medicare or Medicaid.”
Another 13.5 percent would go to local law enforcement “to try to help make sure nobody is misbehaving or that those who are misbehaving are caught, Nemes said. “There is an opt-in, opt-out provision for local government; so, if a county doesn’t want it, they can opt out. As an example, if Pulaski County doesn’t want it, but Somerset does, Somerset can opt back in.”
There is no smoking, according to Nemes. “It’s mostly going to be pills and oils, but there is an opportunity for inhalers, for people who can’t swallow.”