FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is urging the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to move forward with its plans to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug.
The DEA is in the process of reclassifying the drug from a Schedule I substance, alongside heroin and LSD, to a Schedule III substance which is used for ketamine and some anabolic steroids.
On Wednesday, Beshear wrote to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram expressing his support for the reclassification. He called it a “significant, common-sense step forward for all Kentuckians.”
“The jury is no longer out on marijuana,” the governor added. “It has medical uses and is currently being used for medical purposes. This recognition is overwhelming – and bipartisan. For example, I signed a medical marijuana law that passed with support from Republican legislative supermajorities and a Democratic Governor.”
Medical marijuana will become available to eligible Kentuckians at the start of next year.
Earlier this month, the state opened applications for dispensaries and cultivators to operate in Kentucky and received several applicants within minutes of launching.
The governor wrote that reclassifying marijuana not only promotes fair markets and research – it notably allows patients an alternative to deadly opioids and helps communities reduce crime and illicit drug use.
Beshear said opioid use killed roughly 80,000 Americans across the country in 2022, while marijuana use that same year killed none.
“[Kentucky] saw the devastation these supposedly ‘less harmful drugs’ caused to our families and communities,” he added. “A well-regulated medical marijuana market provides an alternative to opioids. Our sister states have shown that medical marijuana programs are safe.”
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