How will Ohio’s new recreational marijuana law impact Kentucky?
This article was originally published by WKYT reporter, WKYT News Staff and Darnell Crenshaw.
KENTUCKY (WKYT) - Recreational marijuana sales began in Ohio on Tuesday, so what does this mean for Kentucky? Will Kentuckians drive more than an hour north to purchase and or consume product and bring it back with them back into the Commonwealth even though it’s illegal in Kentucky?
We have several perspectives on this issue, from the Fayette County attorney to a man who says he went to jail for two days and spent a thousand dollars in court costs for simple possession of marijuana. Fayette County attorney Angela Evans has concerns about Ohio’s recreational marijuana sales going live and Kentuckians shopping at a dispensary and potentially bringing it back into the Commonwealth.
“People coming back and using it and used it there and, I mean, I am concerned about driving under the influence, I mean, that is a severe concern,” said Evans. Evans wants to remind people that Ohio has its laws and Kentucky has its own state laws. “It’s still illegal here. What I don’t want people to be confused about is that just because it might be legal in one state does not make it legal here,” said Evans.
“I do think people will go to Ohio to purchase,” said Lauren Bratcher, the deputy director of Kentucky Norml a part of a national organization that has fought to reform marijuana laws since 1971. “People already go to all the other recreational markets like Michigan and Denver.”
We asked Bratcher if she is concerned about Kentuckians bringing marijuana products back home. “Well, I don’t really think it should be a concern for anyone,” Bratcher said. “I mean, Kentucky destroys more cannabis every year than a lot of states grow legally it’s already here it’s already being used it’s already being imported.”
Evans says her office has been treating marijuana possession as a $100 fine but can increase those fines based on an influx of other charges.
Kentucky Norml has the state marijuana laws on its website.
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