KY HB 248 was signed into law on 3/24/23 by Governor Beshear in an effort to create standards for addiction recovery houses. The Cabinet for Health and Human services will be working to develop standards for recovery houses over the next year. Recovery residences will need to become certified in order to be able to operate in the state. These regulations will require recovery housing to have basic safety measures in place such as fire escapes and fire extinguishers. Under this law, recovery residences must allow individuals receiving medications for substance use disorders to continue to receive treatment while living in recovery residences. Additional regulations require residents to participate in a peer-to-peer supervision model. State Medicaid plan will be revised by January 1, 2024, to cover substance use disorder recovery services provided by a certified recovery residence.
Deeper Dive into SB 47: Over the next year and a half the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Human Services will draft legislation for the production and sale of medical cannabis in our state. This bill made provisions for a Board of Physicians and Advisors to be appointed by the KBML. Self nominations for the board were accepted through the end of May. The board has yet to be named and must be confirmed by the senate. The Board of Physicians and Advisors will serve a 4-year term and will make recommendations on protocols to determine the amount of medical cannabis or Delta 9 THC that constitutes a daily supply. The Board will make recommendations to General Assembly on medical conditions which should be added or removed to the list of qualifying medical conditions. The Board will be responsible for an annual report that will include amount of cannabis sold in Kentucky and amount of revenue per year.
The law states that those with a medical cannabis card may possess up to a 30-day supply of medical cannabis without risk of criminal prosecution. Exceptions are possession or use of medical cannabis on grounds of preschool, primary, or secondary school, in correctional facilities, or on federal property. The law will continue to allow the criminal prosecution of those operate a vehicle, vessel, or aircraft. The act will not require any employer to permit or accommodate the use, consumption, and possession of medical cannabis.
Patients will be eligible apply for a registry identification card who are Kentucky residents, have obtained written certification from a physician with who they have bona fide (not established via telehealth) practitioner-patient relationship. Certain felony charges will exclude persons from obtaining a registry identification card. Periodic updates on upcoming regulations will be Provided in the KYSAM Legislative Report. If you are interested in joining the advocacy committee, there will be those interested on Monday July 17th via zoom. Please contact me if interested: Danielle.Anderson@uky.edu
KY SB 90 was signed by the Governor in April 2020. It establishes a behavioral health conditional dismissal pilot program beginning October 1, 2022 and continuing for four years to provide eligible individuals an alternative to receive treatment for a behavioral health disorder instead of incarceration, resulting in dismissal of the criminal charges upon successful completion of the program. It would create a council with designated membership to assist with the implementation of the pilot program.
KY SB 305 Went to Judiciary on March 3, 2022. It amends various sections of KRS to remove penalties for possession, cultivation, or trafficking of up to eight ounces, or five plants, of marijuana; create a new section of KRS Chapter 431 to allow expungement of certain convictions relating to cannabis.
KY Senate Bill 140, having to do with step-therapy protocols, was signed by the Governor in March 2022. The bill is titled AN ACT relating to step-therapy protocols. It requires Medicaid, KCHIP, self insured employer groups, health plans provided by the governing board of a state post-secondary educational institution and the state employee health plan to comply with step- therapy protocol requirements. The bill states that clinical review criteria developed by an insurer, health plan, pharmacy benefit manager, or private review agent to establish a step-therapy protocol shall be based on clinical practice guidelines developed by a multidisciplinary panel of experts using established clinical guidelines or high-quality research studies and/or validated medical practice. The bill requires members of the panel to disclose any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves if there are conflicts. Furthermore, it requires the use of a methodologist to work with writing groups to provide objectivity in data analysis. There would be opportunity for public review and comment. It also requires that a clear and timely appeal process be established.
KYHB 136 went to Senate Committee on Health and Welfare on March 29, 2022. This bill would define terms and establish a medicinal cannabis program; establish an excise tax on certain transfers of medicinal cannabis, exempt sale of medicinal cannabis from the state sales tax, exempt medicinal cannabis from excise tax on controlled substances, require hospital emergency departments to repot cases of cannabinoid hyperemesis to the Department for Public Health.
KY SB 305 went to Judiciary on March 3, 2022. The bill would remove penalties for possession, cultivation, or trafficking of up to 8 oz. or five plants of marijuana and create a new section of KRS Chapter 431 to allow expungement of certain convictions relating to cannabis and amend KRS 218A.276 to conform.
February 22, 2019
NewsRadio 840 WHAS Town Hall invited Dr. James Murphy, KYSAM’s President Elect and clinical professor at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, to discuss medical marijuana. Currently, three pieces of legislation have been introduced during the 2019 General Assembly that would ultimately legalize marijuana in some capacity, whether medical (HB 136; SB 170) or recreationally (SB 80).
In March 2023, KYSAM sent a letter of support for HB 353, which legalized fentanyl test strips for use outside of the lab. Prior to this, the test strips were legal for use only in the lab and were considered drug paraphernalia if used outside of the lab. Making fentanyl test strips available to people who use drugs is considered another tool in the harm reduction tool kit. It allows people who use drugs (PWUD) to test their drug of choice to see if it contains fentanyl. KYSAM, along with several other advocacy organizations, supported this bill. It was passed and signed by the Governor. We received assistance from Parker Baird and Corey Barton of ASAM in writing the letter.