HB829: AN ACT relating to medicinal cannabis and declaring an emergency.

Legislative Summary

Amends KRS 12.020 and KRS 194A.030 to establish the Office of Medical Cannabis, the Division of Enforcement and Compliance, and the Division of Licensure and Access within the Cabinet for Health and Family Services; amends KRS 218A.202 to make a technical correction; amends KRS 218B.010 to revise definitions of terms related to the medicinal cannabis program; amends KRS 218B.020 to add a pharmacist appointed by the Kentucky Board of Pharmacy to be confirmed by the Senate to the membership of the Board of Physicians and Advisors and to require the board to assist the cabinet in developing a Medicinal Cannabis Advisory Pamphlet; amends KRS 218B.035 to prohibit the use or consumption of marijuana by vaping while on any form of public transportation or in any public place; amends KRS 218B.045 to require each local board of education, each board of directors of a public charter school, and the governing body of each certified nonpublic school to establish policies related to the use of medicinal cannabis by a pupil who is a registered qualified patient on school property by December 1, 2024, and to establish basic standards for school policies related to medicinal cannabis; amends KRS 218B.050 to establish that a medicinal cannabis practitioner shall believe a patient is likely to receive safe and effective therapeutic or palliative relief from the use of medicinal cannabis before providing the patient with a written certification for the use of medicinal cannabis; amends KRS 218B.055 to require that an application for a registry identification card be accompanied by a written certification for the use of medicinal cannabis issued not more than 60 days prior to the date of application; amends KRS 218B.060 to delete provisions related to a provisional registration receipt system; amends KRS 218B.065 to make a technical correction; amends KRS 218B.070 to require a medical cannabis practitioner to make certain notifications to the cabinet; amends KRS 218B.090 to require that the cabinet prioritize the review of cannabis business licensure applications submitted by an individual or entity who is an existing Kentucky hemp business in good standing with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and to establish that a cannabis business licensed by the cabinet must comply with local government zoning and cannabis business regulations; amends KRS 218B.100 to establish the investigation and inspection powers of the Office of Medical Cannabis; amends KRS 218B.110 to establish requirements for dispensaries to provide cardholders with a copy of the Medicinal Cannabis Advisory Pamphlet and to prohibit licensed dispensaries from opening to the public or dispensing medicinal cannabis to cardholders prior to January 1, 2025; amends KRS 218B.130 to establish when a local government may act to prohibit cannabis business operations, to make technical corrections, to require that a proposal for a petition to allow cannabis business operations inside the territory of a local government that has prohibited cannabis business operations be initiated by a person or group of persons who have been registered to vote in the affected territory for at least 12 months prior to submitting the proposal, to require that a petition be signed by at least 10 percent of registered voters in the affected territory, and to require a local government that acts to prohibit cannabis business operations in its territory to provide notification of the action to the cabinet; amends KRS 218B.140 to delete the requirement that the cabinet collaborate with the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure, the Kentucky Board of Nursing, and the Kentucky Center for Cannabis to establish a definition of a daily supply, 10-day supply, and 30-day supply of medicinal cannabis and the amount of raw plant material that medicinal cannabis products are equivalent to, and to require that the cabinet develop a Medicinal Cannabis Advisory Pamphlet and an adverse drugs effects reporting system; amends KRS 218B.150 to establish that property and casualty insurance carriers shall not be required to reimburse a person for costs associated with the use of medicinal cannabis; and amends 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 146 (2023 SB 47), sec. 42, to establish a new effective date of July 1, 2024, for KRS 139.480, 218A.1421, 218A.1422, 218A.1423, 218B.015, 218B.030, 218B.090, 218B.095, 218B.100, 218B.105, 218B.110, 218B.115, 218B.120, 218B.125, and 218B.155; EMERGENCY.