Pros & Cons

Kentucky joined 10 other politically conservative
states this year with their approval of CBD, low THC medications.  All such measures passed between the months
of March and June. 

In Kentucky, the first crop is being grown
under the auspices of the 2014 Farm Bill which allows states to grow hemp for
research purposes.  At least 7 farmers in
the state are growing hemp for Kentucky research facility pilot projects.  Unfortunately, the program got off to a rocky
start earlier in the year when the DEA unsuccessfully tried to impound Italian
hemp seeds accumulated for the research.

Per legislative mandate, doctors at the
University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky research hospitals will
be the only authorized dispensers of the medication. 

Before the Federal Government banned hemp
production, Kentucky was one of the top producing hemp states in the nation.
But the issue of full medical use has repeatedly stalled in the Bluegrass state.  The 2014 legislative session just ended for
the August recess without any additional forward movement on the issue this
year.

Unlike other states which have legalized
CBD use (primarily for childhood epilepsy), Kentucky is actually proceeding on
growing its own supply in state although progress is slow.

The issue of CBD only legalization has also
prompted considerable dismay from reform activists, particularly in the medical
community.  While the combination of
cannabinoids in the cannabis plant are largely under-studied due to federal interference,
it has emerged ever more strongly in areas such as Israel, where THC is
critical in medically treating not only pain,  but adult onset movement disorders.

How additional medical reform will play out
in Kentucky and the other “CBD only states” is unclear, however, reform on the
CBD front is still widely seen within the community as a positive in the right
direction.