Senate Bill 47 passes through Ky. Senate Committee

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WYMT) - Senate Bill 47 passed through Senate Committee on Tuesday morning, which would allow the use of medical marijuana in some cases.

The bill is more than 150 pages long, but simply put, people suffering from cancer, chronic pain, PTSD, and other conditions could use a non-smoking means of cannabis, such as a pill or edible form, to treat those.

It would be highly regulated and users would have to apply for a special card or permit to use it.

Mason County resident Eric Crawford, who suffered life-changing injuries in an accident 29 years ago, admits to using medical marijuana but says he is tired of basically being a criminal.

“Medical cannabis relaxes my uncontrollable muscle spasms,” said Crawford. “It relieves my constant, never-ending pain.”

Although the bill passed through Senate Licensing and Occupations Committee with an 8-3 vote, some conservative groups oppose legalizing marijuana in any form.

“There remains in the view of many insufficient scientific evidence that marijuana is an effective pain relieving agent and the national institute on drug abuse considers marijuana an addictive gateway drug,” said Michael Johnson with The Family Foundation.

Supporters are hopeful it will get to the House by the final two days of the session, which are March 29 and 30.

If SB 47 is made law, it will not go into effect until Jan. 2025 to allow police, health leaders, and others to put the plan into motion.

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