Governor Brashear orders emergency regulation to clarify Kentucky medical cannabis qualifying conditions

Governor Kevin Brashear announced an executive order directing the Office of Medical Cannabis to issue an emergency regulation clarifying which illnesses and symptoms qualify Kentuckians for medical cannabis under the 2023 law, which took effect Jan. 1, 2025. "The emergency regulation clarifies that the law currently includes coverage for the following additional 15 conditions," Brashear said, listing terminal illness, sickle cell anemia, ALS, Parkinson's disease, HIV/AIDS, Huntington disease, muscular dystrophy, wasting syndrome, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, neuropathies, severe arthritis, fibromyalgia and glaucoma.

State officials provided figures to illustrate the program’s early rollout. Brashear said Team Kentucky has licensed 32 businesses across the supply chain — 11 cultivators, two safety-compliance facilities, three processors and 16 dispensaries — and reported 23,723 approved medical cannabis cardholders and more than 500 registered practitioners. "We're creating what we set out to: a safe, highly regulated medical program," he said.

Dr. Linda McClain, a member of the Kentucky Board of Physicians and Advisors, told reporters the board had previously recommended adding many of the listed conditions and that clarifying the statute would reduce patient confusion: "A lot of confusion stems from the fact that multiple conditions have the same symptoms, but yet some conditions are covered and some are not," she said.

Rebecca Sievers, president of the Sickle Cell Association of Kentuckiana, described sickle cell as a painful genetic disorder and said the clarification would expand treatment options for many patients. "This action will positively impact thousands of Kentuckians," Sievers said.

Brashear cited a University of Kentucky study he described as ‘‘first of its kind,’’ saying researchers found a roughly 15% reduction in opioid overdoses in areas near new medical cannabis dispensaries. He said the finding supports the program’s aim of providing a safer alternative to opioids.

When asked about a possible attorney-general challenge, Brashear said he believed the state would prevail because the regulation is intended as a clarification of existing law. He told a reporter who asked about child exposures that the administration is reviewing packaging rules so products do not resemble candy and that medical cannabis should be treated like other prescription medications.

The governor gave a brief explanation of how patients may access the program: contact a participating provider for an in-person appointment to receive a written certification, then apply through the Office of Medical Cannabis online portal for a medical cannabis card. The executive order directs the Office of Medical Cannabis to prepare and file emergency regulations to implement the clarification; the order and regulation timeline were not specified at the briefing.