Gov. Andy Beshear announced Tuesday his administration would expand and “clarify” the list of conditions that qualify a Kentuckian to obtain a medical cannabis card.
Under a 2023 Kentucky law, there are only six qualifying conditions, but Beshear said at a press conference that he believes more conditions fall under some of the broader descriptions spelled out in statute, which include chronic pain, nausea and muscle spasms.
Beshear said the conditions on his new list carry those symptoms, like sickle cell anemia, severe arthritis and fibromyalgia. In the order, Beshear directs the Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis to make emergency regulations to add these conditions and a dozen more to the list of qualifying ailments.
“These conditions might not be listed in the statute itself, but the underlying symptoms of them are right there in the wording,” Beshear said. “We want to make this more clear, and we want to help more people.”
Cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and post-traumatic stress disorder already qualify a Kentuckian for the program, but now people with these conditions would also be eligible under Beshear’s order:
- Terminal illnesses
- Sickle cell anemia
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Parkinson’s disease
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
- Huntington’s disease
- Muscular dystrophy
- Cachexia, a.k.a. wasting syndrome
- Crohn’s disease
- Ulcerative colitis
- Neuropathies
- Severe arthritis
- Fibromyalgia
- Glaucoma
Beshear has previously requested that lawmakers expand the statute to explicitly include an almost identical list of conditions. While the Republican-controlled supermajority has modified the medical cannabis laws since initially passing it, including by expediting the initial licensing process, they haven’t touched the list of qualifying conditions.
GOP Sen. Stephen West has twice sponsored bipartisan legislation to increase the number of medical conditions, but it has always failed to reach the finish line.
Beshear said Tuesday he does not fear a lawsuit over his use of executive power despite the legislature’s refusal to take up the issue. Spokespeople for Republican leadership did not immediately return a request for comment.
Rebecca Seavers, president of Sickle Cell Association of Kentuckiana, said the changes would provide much needed relief to those who suffer from the broad disorder and experience episodes of extreme pain, frequent infections and joint and bone damage.
“When the legislature passed cannabis in Kentucky with the express purpose of reducing reliance on opioids, they left out sickle cell,” Seavers said. “The general assembly made one of the most restrictive lists of qualifying conditions in this country.”
Beshear also pointed to a recent study produced by University of Kentucky researchers that found state medical cannabis dispensary openings and recreational legislation saw significant reductions in non-fatal opioid poisonings.
“That means where we open these dispensaries, we have fewer people dying across our state,” Beshear said. “More people are coming home to their families. Fewer families are mourning the loss of a loved one.”
Though medical marijuana was technically legal to purchase at the beginning of 2025, it has taken far longer to stand up businesses and get products on shelves. Beshear acknowledged complaints that the limited supply of legal medical cannabis has been expensive to purchase when it’s even available. He said that’s one of the reasons he has maintained his executive order granting amnesty for those who travel over state lines to purchase medical cannabis.
More than 23,700 Kentuckians have been approved for medical cannabis cards, and 500-plus practitioners are registered to issue the certifications. Louisville Dr. Linda McClain, an addiction medicine provider and member of the Medical Cannabis Program’s Board of Physicians and Advisors, said Beshear’s order provides needed clarity.
“A lot of confusion stems from the fact that multiple conditions have the same symptoms, but yet some conditions are covered and some are not,” McClain said. “Today is going to help clarify that.”
Under statute, the only body besides the legislature that’s authorized to add medical conditions or diseases to the list of qualified conditions is the Kentucky Center for Cannabis at the University of Kentucky.
