HCR 5, a House concurrent resolution calling for the federal government to reschedule marijuana and expedite the research and swift legalization of safe and effective medications which may be present in marijuana, has passed the House Health and Family Services Committee. This resolution is supported by The Family Foundation.
Likely there are additional medications that can be derived from this plant but using the FDA system to approve is the best and safest method for citizens of the Commonwealth. said Kent Ostrander, Executive Director of The Family Foundation. “Unfortunately, the Federal Government has been slow to respond and so some states have decided to move forward on their own. We see this as not the best for Kentucky and appreciate our legislators who are moving the medical process forward with a proactive and responsible approach.”
While marijuana for medicinal purposes is currently legal in 33 states, some critics believe that move to legalize marijuana for medicinal use may have unintentionally opened the door to harms, abuse, and even possible addiction through eventual recreational use of the drug.
11 of the 33 states that legalized medicinal marijuana have moved on to allow unrestricted recreational use of marijuana and marijuana products. Preliminary federal research shows that 30 percent of individuals who use marijuana have developed a marijuana dependency, and that many of those individuals became addicted after having first used marijuana medicinally.
This is not the first time that a similar resolution has made progress in the House. Rep. Danny Bentley (R-Russell), the author of HCR 5, also authored similar resolutions in the 2018 and 2019 legislative sessions. Neither of those resolutions reached full passage.
HCR 5 is co-sponsored by Representatives Adam Bowling (R-Bell/Harlan Counties), Deanna Frazier (R-Richmond), Kim King (R-Harrodsburg), Kimberly Poore Moser (R-Taylor Mill), and Melinda Gibbons Prunty (R-Belton).
The concurrent resolution, HCR 5, awaits action to be moved to a vote of the full House membership and its eventual concurrence vote in the Kentucky Senate. We’ll keep you updated on its progress as we move quickly through the 2020 legislative session.
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