Grimes forming medical-marijuana task force

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ) – Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes says she is putting together a task force to focus on legalizing medical marijuana in Kentucky.

Grimes made the announcement Wednesday.

She says the group will also study and propose how to implement and regulate medical marijuana.

“Too many Kentuckians are suffering from debilitating physical and mental illnesses,” Grimes states in a press release. “Most have lived with the effects of these illnesses for years. We must do more to relieve their pain and suffering, and there is significant evidence that cannabis is beneficial for these individuals, especially veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress,”

Grimes says the task force will include members of Kentucky’s medical community, including doctors, nurses and medical administrators, as well as representatives from law enforcement and state agencies with regulatory oversight, medical marijuana advocates, and military veterans.

State Representative John Sims, who is crafting medical marijuana legislation for the 2018 legislative session, will co-chair the task force with Grimes.

“Kentucky is getting left behind on this issue. Already 29 states and the District of Columbia have enacted medical marijuana legislation to help their people,” Sims said in the release. “The research is done. The studies have been conducted. It works, and it’s time we end our idling and start having conversations to bring medical marijuana to the Commonwealth. Working together, I’m confident we make this happen in a meaningful and bipartisan manner to bring relief to ailing Kentuckians.”

Grimes says recent surveys show wide support among Kentuckians for legalizing marijuana for medical uses.

The task force will meet next week in Frankfort.