CBD In Kentucky

We briefly touched on the fact that in order for a strain of cannabis to be considered hemp it must contain less than 0.3 percent THC by weight. But what is cannabis? And what is THC? For that matter, what is CBD? Let’s start from the top.

Cannabis is a plant that has been growing wild for eons and has been cultivated by humans since well before the dawn of civilization for both functional and medicinal purposes, and as a valuable food source.

The stalks of the hemp plant produce strong fibers that can be used to produce a myriad of products including rope, cloth, and building materials. Today we use hemp byproducts to produce goods such as biofuel, a carbon-neutral fuel, and hempcrete, a more environmentally-friendly type of concrete.

The seeds of the cannabis plant are extremely nutritious and high in proteins, amino acids, and beneficial oils. The oils made from seeds are technically referred to as hemp seed oil, or just hemp oil. It’s important to understand that hemp oil and CBD oil are not the same product. The oils derived from hemp seeds contain no cannabinoids — neither THC, nor CBD.

Aside from the stalks and seeds of the plant, there is another extremely useful part — the plant’s resinous flower clusters. The resins produced by cannabis flowers contain scores of medicinally active compounds including THC and CBD as well as other cannabinoids. Cannabis flowers also contain oily compounds known as terpenes which give the plant its pungent aroma and strong flavor and provide medicinal benefits of their own.

While hemp production is regulated by the state, marijuana remains an illegal controlled substance in the state of Kentucky. This may change soon, however, as a bill was recently introduced by state lawmakers which could create a regulated medical marijuana program in the state. The bill is still being batted around and not being passed without a fight from prohibitionist legislators.

The Kentucky House Judiciary Committee held a vote on House Bill 136 on March 6, 2019, which passed the committee by an overwhelming vote of 16 to 1. However, the House adjourned the following week without taking action on the bill. There’s still hope that the bill will be resurrected and passed in 2021.

Support for medical cannabis has been growing for several years in the state of Kentucky. Gov. Matt Bevin, himself, who was elected governor in 2015 has expressed his support for legalizing medical marijuana and has repeatedly stated his willingness to sign a bill if it reaches his desk.

Until such time as a medical marijuana bill is enacted in Kentucky, the possession of marijuana or cannabis oils made from marijuana is illegal. If you’re caught with under eight ounces (which is quite a lot, actually — many thousands of dollars worth) you risk spending 45 days in jail and being subject to a $250 fine. If you’re caught selling marijuana that’s another story altogether. Trafficking charges involving under eight ounces are punishable by up to a year in prison and up to a $500 fine. Possession of over eight ounces pushes the penalties up to five years in prison and $10,000 in fines. Also, be aware that just possessing pot paraphernalia is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison and fines up to $500.

It’s also worth mentioning that back in 2014, then-Gov. Steve Beshear signed legislation that was intended to allow medical patients to use CBD if directed by a physician. Interestingly, the legislation applies only to epilepsy and excludes the vast majority of diseases which have been shown to respond to CBD from the list of qualifying conditions.

CBD products were then declared legal in the state of Kentucky back in 2014 pursuant to state statute 218A.010 (link below). However, in early March of 2019, a proposed bill called Shauna’s Law was proposed to protect public workers taking CBD from retaliation from their employer. The bill was named after Shauna Staton, an EMT in Powell County, Kentucky who was using CBD for pain relief. After taking a drug test, county officials accused her of marijuana use and fired her. After filing an appeal, Staton got her job back. The law lays out an appeal process for all public employees in drug-free work environments who fail a drug test.

Although hemp is legal in Kentucky, as stated in KRS 260.858, “It is unlawful for a person who does not hold a license issued by the department, or who is not an agent of a licensee, to cultivate, handle, process, or market living industrial hemp plants or viable seeds, leaf materials, or floral materials derived from industrial hemp. Penalties for persons who cultivate, handle, process, or market living industrial hemp plants or viable seeds, leaf materials, or floral materials derived from industrial hemp without a license are the same as those penalties that are applicable to persons who violate KRS Chapter 218A, relating to marijuana.”