Cannabis in Kentucky is illegal for recreational use, and legal for medical use under executive order, with full medical legalization statute taking effect in 2025. Non-psychoactive

CBD oil Cannabidiol (CBD) is a phytocannabinoid, one of 113 identified cannabinoids in ''Cannabis'', along with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and accounts for up to 40% of the plant's extract. Medically, it is an anticonvulsant used to treat multiple f ...

is also legal in the state, and Kentucky has a history of cultivating

industrial hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a plant in the botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial and consumable use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest ...

for fiber since 1775.

Industrial hemp

Hemp was first cultivated for fiber in Kentucky near Danville in 1775, and cultivation there continued into the 20th century even though cultivation had diminished in other states. A 1914

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commerc ...

report noted:

Appearance as a drug

It is unclear when cannabis first became popular as a drug in Kentucky, but ''The Encyclopedia of Louisville'' notes mention of the popularity of the drug in ''

The Louisville Times ''The Louisville Times'' was a newspaper that was published in Louisville, Kentucky. It was founded in 1884 by Walter N. Haldeman, as the afternoon counterpart to ''The Courier-Journal'', the dominant morning newspaper in Louisville and the common ...

'' in 1930:

2014 legalization of CBD trials

In April 2014, Governor

Steve Beshear Steven Lynn Beshear ( ; born September 21, 1944) is an American attorney and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 61st governor of Kentucky from 2007 to 2015. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 ...

signed a law permitting patients to use non-psychoactive

cannabidiol Cannabidiol (CBD) is a phytocannabinoid, one of 113 identified cannabinoids in ''Cannabis'', along with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and accounts for up to 40% of the plant's extract. Medically, it is an anticonvulsant used to treat multiple f ...

(CBD) derivatives with a physician's recommendation, under clinical trials at the University of Kentucky in the treatment of epilepsy, but the law did not include provisions to legally produce or sell CBD.

2015 failed attempt to legalize medical cannabis

In 2015, House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 40 both proposed establishing a medical cannabis framework in Kentucky; both failed to pass out of committee. The anti-cannabis

National Marijuana Initiative The National Marijuana Initiative (NMI) is an American organization founded in 2001. It is one of three initiatives under the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program. The organization advocates for making educated decisions while info ...

and the

Kentucky Baptist Convention The Kentucky Baptist Convention (KBC) is a state Baptist convention affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Headquartered in Louisville, it is made up of nearly 2,400 churches and 71 local associations.

took credit for the defeat of the bills, and vowed to oppose medical cannabis bills in 2016. NMI coordinator Ed Shemelya stated: "The ultimate end game for proponents of – and I don't even like to call it medical marijuana – the proponents of marijuana as medicine is not to sanction marijuana as medicine but the outright legalization of recreational use of marijuana."

2020 attempt to legalize medical cannabis

On February 20, 2020, House Bill 136 passed 65 to 30. It was the first time a medical marijuana bill has been taken up by the full House. The bill proposes restrictions on who can have medical marijuana and where it can be used, and prohibits smoking medical marijuana. It stalled in the Senate due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The sponsor, Representative

Jason Nemes Jason Michael Nemes (born March 27, 1978) is an American politician who has served as a Republican member in the Kentucky House of Representatives from Kentucky's 33rd House district since 2017. He currently serves as House Majority Whip. Ba ...

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, stated that he would be re-submitting the Bill for the 2021 General Assembly.

2022 medical cannabis bill and executive action

Kentucky House Bill 136 was introduced on January 4, 2022. It passed the House Judiciary Committee 15–1 on March 10, and was passed by the House 59–34 on March 17. The governor of Kentucky,

Andy Beshear Andrew Graham Beshear ( ; born November 29, 1977) is an American attorney and politician serving as the 63rd governor of Kentucky since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 50th attorney gen ...

, said on April 7 that he was considering executive action to permit medical cannabis in his state if the bill was not approved in the state senate. HB 136 did not receive a hearing in the Kentucky Senate by the end of the session on April 15, and days later, Beshear confirmed that executive actions would be forthcoming. On June 14, Governor Beshear appointed a 17-member "Team Kentucky Medical Cannabis Committee" through executive order 2022-338 – noting "allowing Kentuckians diagnosed with certain medical conditions and receiving palliative care to cultivate, purchase, and/or use medical cannabis would improve the quality of their lives" and attendant economic benefits – with the purpose of holding public hearings. The committee had its first meeting on June 20. A public feedback website, medicalcannabis.ky.gov, was also created under the order. On November 14, Beshear issued an executive order declaring cannabis legal to process for medical use but only if it is 8 ounces or less and was legally purchased in another state.

2023 medical cannabis bill

Kentucky Senate Bill 47 Cannabis in Kentucky is illegal for recreational use, and legal for medical use under executive order, with full medical legalization statute taking effect in 2025. Non-psychoactive CBD oil is also legal in the state, and Kentucky has a histo ...

authorizing medical cannabis in Kentucky was passed by the state legislature on March 30, 2023, and signed into law by Governor Beshear on March 31. The provisions of the bill became effective January 1, 2025. The bill establishes regulations for medical cannabis qualifying conditions. Under the bill, the

Kentucky Center for Cannabis Research Kentucky Center for Cannabis Research is a cannabis research center at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. It was established by House Bill 604, which became law on April 26, 2022. Its purpose under the statute is "to advance the study ...

would be able to add new conditions to the list. Patients may possess a 30-day supply. Smoking cannabis is prohibited, but raw cannabis will be available for vaporizing. The bill also established

THC Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a cannabinoid found in cannabis. It is the principal psychoactive constituent of ''Cannabis'' and one of at least 113 total cannabinoids identified on the plant. Although the chemical formula for THC (C21H30O2) de ...

limits: 35% on flower, 70% on concentrates, and 10 milligrams on edibles.

References

{{Cannabis in the United States