State Senator Whitney Westerfield has thrown his support behind legislation that would legalize medical marijuana in Kentucky.
House Bill 136, sponsored by Representative Jason Nemes of Louisville, would not allow patients to smoke it, only take it orally or topically. The bill would also ban people from growing the plant.
The bill also outlines four qualifying conditions: chronic pain, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and nausea. The latter being a way for cancer patients to qualify.
Senator Westerfield issued a statement saying, “I continue to have concerns about the risk of increased access to marijuana, particularly among youth and young adults for whom it remains a recreational and gateway drug. I also have concerns about the precedent we’re setting by ignoring federal law.”
He continues, “However I’ve heard too many stories, in my district and out, from those long suffering and their loved ones left behind, that marijuana brought comfort and relief when nothing else worked.”
He says he believes House Bill 136 creates “a place for the market to function, as it has now in 37 other states, while making access safely regulated for those in need.”