Medical marijuana legislation passed the House Judiciary Committee chaired by Representative Jason Petrie of Elkton this week and Petrie is clarifying what a bill he sponsors would do regarding open records in Kentucky.
The bill to legalize medical marijuana passed the committee with only one ‘no’ vote, but Petrie says he cast a “pass” vote due to concerns with marijuana still being illegal in federal statute.
He also noted that Kentucky would receive revenue from a 12-percent tax on the medical marijuana during the distribution process before it reaches the patient. Those funds would assist patients who can’t afford the costs of medical marijuana, but Petrie says there are issues depositing the funds into an FDIC-insured bank while marijuana is still illegal on the federal level.
Representative Petrie is unsure if medical marijuana will receive full passage in the House and Senate before the session ends, saying he’d like to see additional discussion. He does believe marijuana has medicinal value in some cases.
Meanwhile, Petrie doesn’t believe his House Bill 387 to be an assault on open records laws as has been reported in statewide media. He says the motive is to clarify that offers of potential incentives by economic development officials during recruitment of industry would not be subject to public records if an agreement is never reached with the prospective industry.
You can hear Representative Petrie and other local lawmakers discuss several topics during our weekly Legislative Update program Sunday morning at 9 on Lite Rock 98.7 and online at lite987whop.com.
Listen to our entire interview with Rep. Petrie below:
https://soundcloud.com/user-350001776/rep-jason-petrie-interview-03082019