Kentuckians get the OK to use marijuana bought outside the state for medical reasons starting Jan. 1

Kentucky residents will be able to use marijuana legally purchased in other states if they have a qualifying medical condition. 

Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, signed the executive order Tuesday allowing medical marijuana use. The legalization goes into effect Jan. 1.

Residents must be certified as having one of 21 qualifying medical conditions, keep a receipt of purchase from a state where weed is legal and have no more than 8 ounces.

“Kentuckians suffering from chronic and terminal conditions are going to be able to get the treatment they need without living in fear of a misdemeanor,” Mr. Beshear said in the announcement, also noting that medical marijuana is supported by 90% of state residents and is legal in 37 other states.

Eligible medical conditions for using medical marijuana in Kentucky, according to the executive order, include:

• Fibromyalgia.
• Hepatitis C.
• Muscular dystrophy.
• Huntington’s disease.
• Lou Gehrig’s disease or ALS.
• Crohn’s disease.
• Parkinson’s disease.
• Severe arthritis.
• Cachexia or wasting syndrome.
• Glaucoma.
• Neuropathy.
• Multiple sclerosis.
• Sickle cell anemia.
• Intractable seizures.
• Post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Cancer.
• HIV or AIDS.

While some legislators across the aisle agree with medical marijuana legalization, they also see the use of an executive order as overreach.

Bills to legalize medical marijuana have passed the Kentucky House of Representatives but have died in the state’s Senate.

“Today the governor has granted himself a power that exists nowhere in the United States and finds no refuge in Kentucky’s Constitution. … As much as I support his effort to bring medical marijuana to Kentucky, this unprecedented power grab cannot stand,” State Rep. Jason Nemes, Louisville Republican, told WDRB, a Louisville Fox TV affiliate.