The Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis has sent a letter to the legislative leadership recommending the General Assembly expand Kentucky's list of qualifying medical conditions for medical cannabis.
The recommendation calls for adding 16 more conditions, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease, irritable bowel disease, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, sickle cell anemia, cachexia or wasting syndrome, neuropathies, arthritis, fibromyalgia, muscular dystrophy, Huntington's disease, Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), glaucoma and terminal illness.
"Expanding the list to include these conditions could help provide relief to approximately 430,000 Kentuckians," Beshear said at a Feb. 5 news conference. "In most other states that have medical cannabis, these conditions are included, and this recommendation aligns with the Kentucky Board of Physicians and Advisors, which unanimously supported expanding qualifying conditions."
The eligible conditions in the current law are cancer, multiple sclerosis, muscle spasms or spasticity, chronic pain, epilepsy or any other seizure disorder, chronic nausea and post-traumatic stress disorder. Since Kentucky Health News last reported on this topic, another dispensary has opened. Bluegrass Cannacare opened in Florence on Feb. 7, bringing the state's total to seven.
Read more at Forward Kentucky
