LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky lawmakers gathered in Frankfort on Tuesday, focused on two proposed bills in the House: one to decriminalize marijuana and another to create a new section of the state's constitution, letting voters decide.
State representatives and members of the Kentucky Cannabis Freedom Coalition, ACLU and NAACP met Tuesday in support of legalization.
"Decriminalizing cannabis is a small, incremental but hugely impactful step in the right direction for our commonwealth," Rep. Nima Kulkarni said.
Lawmakers expect the debate to revolve around medical marijuana, and some hope with the changes they've made to the bill, it will get through the Senate.
"We have the opportunity to take the question to the voters in Kentucky and ask them, not politicians who want to be obstructionists but the people who can benefit most from decriminalization and legalization," Rep. Attica Scott said. "Let's get it done."
But Rep. Jason Nemes said the voters have given their input, and they are in support of medical marijuana.
"That's the place where we have the votes, and we're fine-tuning some things to try to make sure that we get a vote in the Senate," Nemes said.
It passed the House with two-thirds majority during the 2020 session, and Nemes believes it's even stronger in 2022 after he made some revisions. It now only allows doctors to prescribe it and it doesn't allow people to grow their own plants.
"Thirty-six states already have it," Nemes said. "There's a lot of people who it would help, so I think medical marijuana is the step that Kentucky needs to take."
He expects the conversation this session to be surrounding medical marijuana and not decriminalizing it.
"We can agree to disagree, but I'll say this that now is the time for us to reconcile our differences, because class is now in session for our Kentucky legislators," said C.J. Carter, state director of Minorities for Medical Marijuana.
Lawmakers haven't taken it up yet. They will be in session through mid-April.
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