The House of judiciary committee in Kentucky has voted to pass House Bill 136, which is the medical marijuana bill. As you might know, the new bill seeks to legalize medical cannabis in the state.
However, this did not happen with some hurdles as the vote was postponed earlier in the fateful day (6th March) until later in the evening. Most of the lawmakers expressed concerns with the Bill claiming that they were not fully comfortable with the some of the provisions, but they knew that the constituents were in support of legalization of cannabis to allow it to be used by people with certain ailments.
Unfortunately, Petrie, the House Judiciary Chair, confessed that he would abstain from voting even though the bill is better as compared to the previous incarnations. Besides, Rep. Reed voted to disapprove the bill while citing a number of concerns with its language.
The much-awaited voting exercise cleared the House Judiciary committee with 16 votes in support of the bill, 1 no vote and 1 pass. As the yes votes came in, those who were in support of the bill could not contain their excitement as their emotions spilled over.
Nevertheless, despite the many yes votes, most of the representatives made it clear that they did not support the legalization of cannabis across the board. The bill also features a stipulation that states that smoking marijuana may not be allowed.
