A bill establishing a cannabis research center in Kentucky passed the state Senate on Thursday and will head to the House for concurrence.
Rep. Kim Moser (R-Taylor Mill) is the primary sponsor of House Bill 604. Moser repeatedly said throughout the session that there needs to be more research on marijuana before she would back it.
“I want cannabis products to be dispensed and dosed and to really understand the qualifying medical conditions that it can help with,” Moser said in a House committee earlier this session. “We need to know what the drug interactions are. I think research will allow for the study of cannabis or CBD to fully understand the differences.”
If the bill becomes law, the University of Kentucky would operate the center due to its ties to the Federal Drug Administration.
Legislation related to medical and recreational cannabis use in the state did not advance this session.
“I’m just excited that Kentucky has an opportunity to be a leader in research,” Moser said. “And I think that this puts the horse back before the cart, if you will, to really do things in the right order and make sure that we have safe medications for Kentuckians who need it.”
During a press conference in early April, Gov. Beshear said he would consider executive action on medical cannabis since the legislature won’t pass it.
“We’re going to explore that,” Beshear said. “First, we should. It is time for the legislature to pass medical marijuana. You see people from every part of every spectrum that are in favor of this.”
Cannabis-related legislation is expected to return to the General Assembly in 2023 (Thursday is the last day of the 2022 session) and the commission could aid some lawmakers in their decision-making.
“I do anticipate (the cannabis research center) being in place next year,” Moser said. “As far as the timeline between research and medical cannabis legislation passing is to be determined. It’ll depend on what the indications are and what the research reveals.”
Moser said she is open to different types of ways that cannabis could be prescribed, but it would again depend on the research.
“It depends on what the researchers and the experts determine is [sic] the indications and what amount helps,” Moser said. “We have many, many medications that start out as plants, and they go through the FDA approval process, their research, and a medication is developed.”