Kentucky lawmakers say no tax if medical marijuana becomes legal

(The Center Square) – There’s no guarantee Kentucky lawmakers will pass a bill to legalize medical marijuana during the 2021 session that began Tuesday afternoon, but Republican legislative leaders have dismissed a proposal by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear to use it as a revenue generator.

State Senate President Robert Stivers and House Speaker David Osborne appeared on KET’s Kentucky Tonight on Monday, along with Democratic legislative leaders, to preview the 30-day session. One of the issues that came up was medical marijuana, which passed the House by a 65-30 margin last year but never got even a committee hearing in the Senate last year.

Osborne, R-Prospect, said there’s hope the Senate will consider it this year. It’s an issue that he added he’s evolved on over the past decade as he was a co-sponsor of the bill sponsored by state Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville, last year.

“The overwhelming majority of the people in our caucus and our chamber are tired of making criminals out of sick people,” he said. “You know, we freely prescribed narcotics and opioids to excess every single day with far greater consequences, and I think that there is compelling evidence that people are getting significant medical benefits from it.”

Beshear has said a tax at some point in the process is necessary because legalizing medical marijuana will require inspectors and a regulatory body to oversee it. The tax wouldn’t necessarily be placed on consumers but could be levied, for example, when pharmaceutical companies purchase harvested crops for processing.

“If it’s not revenue positive, you can’t support that administrative arm that’s required to make sure it’s done right,” Beshear said in a separate interview on KET that aired after the legislative preview.

That’s a nonstarter for Osborne, who said that the state has established policy against taxing medications.

Stivers has remained noncommittal on the issue, noting he’s reviewed several studies on the topic but those have indicated that larger reviews are needed. He said Monday while he does see some medicinal value in THC, he added there are concerns about how it affects brain development in young adults and possible increased exposure to carcinogens for those who smoke it.

But he also agreed with the Speaker in opposing Beshear’s proposal.

“If you’re taking that approach, that it’s a money generator, then you’re not thinking about the medicinal or therapeutic value, because you’re totally, as David said, treating it differently than any other drug, which in and of itself is wrong,” he said.

House Minority Leader Joni Jenkins, D-Shively, said Democrats in the chamber have long supported legalizing medical marijuana and added that her counterpart in the Senate, state Sen. Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville, may offer a bill in that chamber.

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