In 2022, Beshear signed an executive order permitting Kentuckians with eligible conditions to purchase medical cannabis in states where it was legal and bring the product back into the commonwealth.
Now, with production and dispensaries ramping up in Kentucky, the governor says it's time to end that order.
"What that means is, now that you can buy it in-state under our program... beginning July 1, if you were traveling out-of-state under that condition pardon, you now must purchase your medical cannabis in-state," he explained Thursday.
As for questions about accessibility for some who may live farther away from existing dispensaries, the governor said he's comfortable with coverage — though one region could be a concern in the short-term.
"We are spread throughout the state pretty well," he said. "If there is a concern, there is one part of Eastern Kentucky we'd like to see have a little more access, but we believe this step will actually increase that access because people who are right now going to another state will purchase in-state, so those dispensaries will that there's the market."
The previous out-of-state option will end July 1.
The governor recently signed a separate executive order expanding the list of eligible conditions for medical marijuana prescriptions.
The updated list :
- 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
- Glaucoma