Area officials offer insight on house bill for marijuana decriminalization

This article originally published on WKBO by Sarah Phipps.

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - Governor Andy Beshear made marijuana legal medicinally in Kentucky last year, and now a bill is being proposed that would decriminalize it in the Commonwealth.

Area officials are at odds following House Bill 72′s proposed decriminalization of marijuana possession, cultivation, and trafficking, as long as the quantity falls under parameters for “personal use.”

“A 30-day supply is often what is talked about in the medical terms, but that’s subjective with the patient,” said Deputy Director for Kentucky NORML Lauren Bratcher. “It’s very hard to actually say what is possession and what isn’t. On paper, it’s based on the laws surrounding trafficking.”

Were HB 72 passed, it would be legal for adults to possess up to an ounce of marijuana, five grams of marijuana concentrates like delta-8 THC, or up to five cannabis plants.

“How would you ever police that?” asked Tommy Loving, Executive Director for the Kentucky Narcotics Officers’ Association. “An individual inclined on growing marijuana and selling it would pretty much have a free ticket to produce up to 15 pounds a year, in a best case scenario.”

Loving said he believes HB 72 will lead to an increase in drug use in the state, while Bratcher argues the opposite.

“It’s just filled with more problems. You know, we have a major drug problem in Kentucky, with opiates with meth. So why do we want to increase the availability of one more drug that we believe is a gateway drug?” Loving said.

“During the Nixon administration, the Schaefer Report came out, saying that marijuana was not potentially abusive,” Bratcher said. “The harms that were seen as harms coming from cannabis did not constitute the criminal consequences that they put on individuals for personal use and personal possession.”

Bratcher recommends those opposed to the bill research the properties of marijuana, while Loving advises they make their voices heard and contact their legislators.

Currently, possession of up to eight ounces of marijuana is a misdemeanor in the state, punishable by a max of 45 days in prison and a fine of up to $250.

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