Beshear signs medical marijuana, sports betting bills into law
FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ) — Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday signed into law two long-disputed, historic pieces of legislation, medical marijuana and sports betting.
Medical marijuana, or Senate Bill 47, passed the Senate by a 26-11 vote. On the last day of the legislative session, it cleared its final hurdle in the House with a 66-33 vote.
“These folks want and deserve safe and effective methods of treatment,” Beshear said before signing the bill. “We needed legislative action, and last night the General Assembly delivered…this will come as a huge relief to families, some of which who are with us today.”
He’s been a long proponent of medical marijuana in Kentucky, even implementing an executive order this year that allows Kentucky patients to possess it as long as it’s legally purchased from another state and brought over.
“In November, I signed an executive order to help Kentuckians with certain medical conditions, like our veterans suffering from PTSD, find safe and effective relief through medical cannabis.
Today the General Assembly finally took action and passed a bill to legalize medical cannabis – something the majority of Kentuckians support. I am thankful this progress has been made, and I will proudly sign this bill into law tomorrow,” Beshear wrote on Facebook after the House passed the bill Thursday.
SB 47 will legalize medical marijuana use for Kentuckians with a handful of certain medical conditions, like PTSD or epilepsy. It also sets strict provisions for possession, like needing the proper identification card and the right dosage; outlines that smoking the product will be prohibited, meaning oils and edibles will likely be primary routes; and the rollout won’t take effect until Jan. 1, 2025.
The sports betting bill, or House Bill 551, passed the House by a vote of 63-34. Also on the last day of the legislative session, it cleared its final hurdle in the Senate with a vote of 25-12.
“The fact is you can drive right across virtually every one of Kentucky’s borders and you can place a bet and those dollars go right back into supporting their roads…our dollars were supporting Indiana, West Virginia, Ohio and other states,” Beshear noted before signing the bill. “We are doing what is right, not just to keep dollars in our state but keep our red-hot economy on fire.”
HB 551 would legalize, regulate and tax sports betting in the state. It would allow Kentucky’s nine horse racing tracks to be licensed by sports-betting facilities for a $500,000 upfront fee. Tracks could then renew their license annually for $50,000.
“After years of urging lawmakers to legalize sports betting, we finally did it! Today’s result shows that hard work pays off. Kentuckians will soon be able to place their bets here, and for the first time, we are going to keep those dollars to support our roads and bridges, schools and communities. ^ AB” Beshear wrote on Facebook after the Senate passed the bill Thursday.
