Kentucky Rep. Jason Nemes, the House majority whip, is pushing back on Gov. Andy Beshear’s expansion of medical marijuana conditions. During an Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary meeting, Nemes asked the attorney general to prosecute those who follow the governor’s executive order, specifically targeting regulatory agencies such as the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure and the Kentucky Board of Nursing.

Executive Order Expansion

Last week, Gov. Beshear issued an executive order to add 15 new conditions to the list of medical marijuana conditions, including terminal illnesses, ALS, AIDS, and Huntington’s disease. Nemes argued that the General Assembly passed a tight bill around marijuana and declined the governor’s request to add these conditions last session.

Nemes stated, ‘We will not become Oklahoma. We will not become Ohio. We want this for people who need it, who are in the conditions that we have established. Some of us want to expand conditions, some of us don’t. There is a lawful process to do that.’

Gov. Beshear’s Response

Gov. Beshear responded to Nemes’ comments, saying, ‘This was the right thing to do. It’s helping a lot of people. And I was, really surprised to see an attack from one lawmaker who called on the attorney general to prosecute people dying of a terminal illness for securing medical cannabis.’ However, Nemes only mentioned prosecuting agencies that comply with the new order, not patients.

Beshear also called Nemes a bully, stating, ‘That’s my job, to stand in between those bullies and these individuals that have these very serious conditions that are saying, just give me something, that isn’t addictive, that isn’t opioids, and that can help me.’

Original reporting: WLKY Louisville — read the source article.