Beshear's Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee Seeking Feedback from Kentuckians

The group will soon hit the road to listen to Kentuckians' thoughts about medical marijuana.

(Frankfort, Ky.) – Governor Andy Beshear has named 17 members to the Team Kentucky Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee.

The committee will help advise the governor on providing access to medical cannabis for Kentuckians suffering from chronic pain and other medical conditions.

The initial 17 members of the committee all have relevant experience in health care, treatment of opioid use disorder and other diseases of addiction, law enforcement, criminal justice, and advocacy for medical cannabis.

The committee will be tasked with traveling the state to listen to Kentuckians’ views on medical cannabis and provide feedback to the governor.

Meeting details have yet to be released.

“Polling suggests 90% of Kentucky adults support legalizing medical cannabis, while at the same time, far too many in our state who could benefit from it are suffering. It is simply time that something more is done,” said Gov. Beshear. “I want to make sure every voice is heard as I am weighing executive action that could provide access to medical cannabis in the commonwealth.”

Currently, 38 states have legalized the use of medical marijuana, including neighboring state of Ohio, Illinois, West Virginia, Missouri, and Virginia.

Governor Beshear's 17-member Medical Cannabis Advisory Committe is listed below. 

• Dr. Amber Cann of La Grange, pharmacy coach and adjunct professor at Spalding University;
• Julie Cantwell of Rineyville, advocate with Kentuckians for Medical Marijuana;
• Jennifer Cave of Louisville, member, Stites and Harbison;
• Eric Crawford of Maysville, advocate;
• Cookie Crews of Frankfort, commissioner of the Department of Corrections;
• Dr. John Farmer of Louisville, OB/GYN, medical director of Solid Ground Counseling and Recovery, addiction treatment provider in Louisville, Morehead and Hazard;
• Dr. Jonathan Hatton of Whitesburg, family medicine, Mountain Comprehensive Health;
• Brian Jointer of Jeffersonville, Indiana, certified public health worker in Louisville;
• Dr. Nick Kouns of Lexington, internal medicine, Clark Regional Medical Center;
• Alex Kreit of Cincinnati, Ohio, director of the Chase Center on Addiction Law and Policy at Northern Kentucky University;
• Dr. Linda McClain of Louisville, OB/GYN, Commonwealth Counseling Center;
• Andrew Sparks of Lexington, former assistant U.S. Attorney;
• Dee Dee Taylor of Louisville, chief executive officer, 502 Hemp Wellness Center;
• Julie Wallace of Morganfield, Union County Attorney; and
• Kristin Wilcox of Beaver Dam, co-founder of Kentucky Moms for Medical Cannabis.