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Hello Y'all From Kentucky


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I want to introduce myself before I start posting......  

 

The Kentucky Legislature will review SB 11, which is modeled after Michigan's Medical Marijuana Act, sometime in 2014.  I'm hopeful it passes and our representatives seem to be coming around to see the benefits.  My hope is that they address it early in the year, but most experts predict it will be late summer...then several months to implement.  I wait with my fingers crossed. 

 

I'm a former Michigander; I grew up in the Grand Haven/Spring Lake area.  I vacation in Michigan most summers (but don't miss the looonnnnggg winters) so I'm familiar with most of the areas you reference.  I've been lurking for a few weeks so I probably know you guys better than you know me.

 

I've reserved the domain name KentuckyMMJ.org and hope to set up a web site similar to this one.....I find this a great resource for everyone involved.  I'm a cancer survivor and am extremely interested in the medical benefits of cannabis but I smoked my share of recreational bud growing up in the 70's. Currently, I'm interested in CBDs, tinctures, oils and juicing and it's use for chronic pain. 

 

I'd love to hear what you all have learned in the last few years that we in Kentucky can hope to avoid as patients and caregivers.  What do you think works - and what doesn't - about your laws at this time? 

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And, beware of groups like MPP, DPA, ASA and the like who are more than willing to sellout home growing for commercialization(dispensaries).

 

Also, be active lobbying as a professional in your legislature and take the time to understand the legislative process and to shape arguments(scratch 'argument", go with reasonable talking points) that will have the best chance for success and the least chance for unintended consequences in the future.

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Our law would work just fine if the law enforcement community would abide by it. They seem to think it is about new reasons to arrest people, not to protect patients.

 

There are many threads on this forum about the legal battles being fought over our law.

 

Right now patients can acquire their meds from anywhere, but it is illegal to give it to them unless you are their registered caregiver. Extracts of any kind are illegal because our Court of Appeals says that "preparations" must contain leaves and flowers. So no oils, tinctures, butter or hash. Probably no juice too, unless you leave the vegetable matter in it.

 

They've also decided brownies are out because they can't determine the cannabis content.

 

Although they can find .3 picograms of marijuana (one picogram per milliliter is one trillionth of a gram) in a baby's hair when they want to take her from her parents, go figure.

 

I'm glad to hear this about Kentucky, I've been thinking about moving down there to retire.

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Home growing.

 

Without it, your law is crapola.

 

;-)

 

 Get it and hold onto it like your life depended on it. It just might.

Kentucky SB11 seems to be oriented primarily to home growing.  The bill would allow a patient without a caregiver to have 12 plants in bloom and 12 plants under 1' tall 7 diameter and no more than 6 oz of usable.  Caregivers can only have 5 patients and can be assigned the grow rights of their patient or not.  Caregivers can have 6 oz usable for each patient to insure a continuous supply.  

 

They are limiting dispensaries to 5 initially and will award licenses (based on a very strict review process) the following year based on each 200,000 registered patients.....so dispensaries are going to be one in each major city - one for each region of the state.  Patients can select both a caregiver AND a dispensary.  This makes me think that dispensaries will be expensive and perhaps a good place to try out new strains that you are considering growing yourself or requesting from your caregiver.  

 

Only grows in secure, locked area are allowed.....but there is an industrial hemp bill under review as well.  I'm not sure if the rural folks who already grow outside will "go legal" because it's already a fairly big business but the law prohibits law enforcement from investing any time or government resources into arresting offenders.  My impression is the Act will force law enforcement to take a "hands off" approach to enforcement.  

 

SB 11 does allow caretakers and dispensaries to take "donations" and patient/caretaker/dispensary transfers are permitted as long as there is no money changing hands.  I'm not sure how that all works out, but it seems like caretakers could help each other out in a pinch and that patients can give away their meds as long as the recipient also has a card. 

 

Kentucky passed a cannibas tax stamp law a couple of years ago - $3.50 per gram - I don't see anything overturning that law....so this will be a boon to the Commonwealth Treasury and perhaps keep a bit of a black market going among the same folks that bootleg moonshine to avoid paying "the revenuer".  

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Our law would work just fine if the law enforcement community would abide by it. They seem to think it is about new reasons to arrest people, not to protect patients.

 

There are many threads on this forum about the legal battles being fought over our law.

 

Right now patients can acquire their meds from anywhere, but it is illegal to give it to them unless you are their registered caregiver. Extracts of any kind are illegal because our Court of Appeals says that "preparations" must contain leaves and flowers. So no oils, tinctures, butter or hash. Probably no juice too, unless you leave the vegetable matter in it.

 

They've also decided brownies are out because they can't determine the cannabis content.

 

Although they can find .3 picograms of marijuana (one picogram per milliliter is one trillionth of a gram) in a baby's hair when they want to take her from her parents, go figure.

 

I'm glad to hear this about Kentucky, I've been thinking about moving down there to retire.

Kentucky is great...good people.  Is there a particular area that you are interested in?  I'm currently living in Louisville, but am looking at retirement property within an hour or so drive - "cornbread mafia" territory.  Really good people that will embrace you like one of their own once they get to know and accept you.  

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Alright, I quickly ran over your proposed bill in Kentucky and I would say it is pretty good. Many issues we have will be resolved by yourlanguage and most ofit is good.

 

this leads me to believe there is no chance in hell it will pass.... Hehehe.

LOL...that's what I thought when I first read it.  But I emailed my State Senators and got back a fairly positive reply - plus the Attorney General has announced that he's "leaning toward" supporting legalization.  It's looking more and more likely that it will pass.  And, $3.50 a gram State Tax Stamps may push a few legislators over the fence.  

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Will be interesting to watch and see how things change in it and then if it passes.

 

there are some areas that will be gutted by Law enforcement, municipalities, insurance and employers right off the bat.

 

 But yea,... language is good overall. It resolves a lot and would be okie dokie is passed close to as is.

 

:-)

 

 I wish ya'll good luck on it.

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One area I would look at closer is the "New Conditions" petitioning.   That is one ya don't want to leave so much up in the air on.  Your language is what ours used to be, and it doesn't work well(at all).

 

Maybe adding in a couple rules guidelines to the law itself may help resolve a few problems down the road.  Easy to overlook when the big picture is simply getting medical marijuana at all, but important nonetheless. Someof the problems may be avoided by the oversight panel in Sec. 22.

 

And then Sec. 13 could use some language changes.  I would shore up the Affirmative defense language to avoid a few problems we have had.

 

And then a big dicckover by the dispensary people here:

 

(7) A registered compassion center shall not acquire usable marijuana or mature marijuana plants from any person other than another registered compassion center, a registered qualifying patient, or a registered designated caregiver. A registered compassion center may only acquire usable marijuana or mature marijuana plants from a registered qualifying patient or a registered designated caregiver, if the registered qualifying patient or registered designated caregiver receives no compensation for the marijuana.

 

 Just give it to us for FREE!  Dweebs... -_-

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quick review of sb11. i'm not going to review the dispensary parts:

 

definition of enclosed locked facility does not mention having a roof.

also it does not mention much about said greenhouse.

i mean, they sell plastic greenhouses now. sure you can put a lock on it, but its still just a thin piece of plastic...

 

when having plants to be measured or not, you better say measured from the soil/hydro line and not measuring roots.

 

registry identification card definition makes it seem like the department has to issue a document that identifies a visiting patient.

 

usable marijuana definition does not talk about leaves at all. this is probably bad idea.

 

'giving marijuana' should be changed to 'transferring marijuana' . theres no reason to add a new word 'giving' to the law.

 

i would change the presumption rebutted from 'the patient' to 'a  patient' because yuck.

 

 

awesome paragraph in that says the state cops wont help the feds prosecute patients. very nice.

we got a bunch of local puds that wish they were in the DEA and spend a lot of time getting the feds to bug patients.

 

this bill would allow visiting patients to get kentucky cards? heh

 

nice a section for medical marijuana studies. awesome.

 

for the affirmative defense, it would be easier if it said the registry card was good for 2 of the 3 prongs...

because it means you have to get a doctor to show up in court. thats difficult and time consuming.

also if your plants werent in a locked area, you lose affirm defense and are now a felon? yikes.

whats happened over and over again is patients are in a grow room, hear a knock at the door, unlock the door to talk to the police... and hey, now its in an unlocked place.

 

or what happens when you transport a plant? you have to get it from the car to the locked place right? as soon as you unlock that door, now you're unprotected? what? stupid making whoopee law writing right there.

 

also i think you should remove marijuana from the schedule list while you are at it.

theres no reason it should be there and it only harms patients.

Edited by t-pain
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May I add, in Maine, they also require it to be given to the dispensary for free by pt/cg's, but they require the dispensary to give it away for free as well. It was their way of dealing with "unused medicine".

I guess if you wanted to donate to a cancer patient or an experimental treatment, you could donate it to the dispensary to arrange processing and you all feel good about it...while caretakers continue to serve their 5 patients as well.  SB11 requires that dispensaries provide a plan for providing medicine to Medicare and SSI patients at "affordable" prices...which sounds like they will have to offer some product at below market prices for those patients who are on a fixed income.  

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Sit back and enjoy the show, it's all predetermined. Your legislature has a script from your attorney general, and the judges will play tweedie dee and tweedle dum. When they get their reciprocity act together we will all have better days visiting Kentucky. It's all good if you don't try to get rich off of it, that action is for politicians and lawyers only.

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Kentucky is great...good people.  Is there a particular area that you are interested in?  I'm currently living in Louisville, but am looking at retirement property within an hour or so drive - "cornbread mafia" territory.  Really good people that will embrace you like one of their own once they get to know and accept you.  

 

I'm thinking about over near Ashland.

Edited by Wild Bill
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Thank you KentuckyMMJ! 

Great thread so far, excellent input.

I do so hope that KY does get a mmj law

put forth that makes you the #2 best mmj

State in the union as MI is and always will

be #1! ;) jk

 

Excellent idea for your KentuckyMMJ domain, it will be

an invaluable tool for others, just as MMMA.org is.

 

Please keep us up to date & WELCOME to The 3MA :D

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