The legalization of marijuana for either recreational or medical use is becoming a hot topic in Kentucky.

Last week, at UPike a medical cannabis advisory committee held a town hall meeting to discuss the legalization of medical cannabis. The advisory committee was put together by an order from Gov. Andy Beshear so he can gather the proper information to make a decision on the future of cannabis. A measure that has both Democrat and Republican support was supported in the House. My opinion is that it will stall in the Senate, which is typical politics.

The committee is made up of experts who have experience in the opioid field, criminal justice, healthcare and advocates for the legalization of cannabis.

Among those attending the town hall meeting was 94th Dist. state Rep. Angie Hatton.

Hatton said that over half the states in the U.S. have some form of legalization and that weed has been around for over 5,000 years. Also, she said that, to her knowledge, no one has died from using weed and she feels it could replace other harmful drugs.

The panel’s intent and message was that if properly prescribed people may get the same results from weed as that do from opioids. However they made it abundantly clear that the meeting was for medical use and not recreational use.

Since our country is controlled by Big Pharma, I find it hard to believe that weed will ever be approved for medical use only. Big Pharma will have their lobbyists lining the politicians’ pockets to vote the measure down because Big Pharma can’t profit from weed, because it’s a weed and grows anywhere.

The folks on the panel made compelling arguments why medical cannabis should be legal in Kentucky. I think one of the most compelling and logical one is that weed may offer relief for chronic pain patients and steer them away from opioids. But if that happens, Big Pharma is out hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

The only way I see that happening is if marijuana was legalized for recreational use as well. This way Big Pharma can’t complain and pain doctors who truly want to help patients can advise their patients to use it legally. If that happens, you will see the doctors getting more kickbacks from Big Pharma to continue to use pills.

While it’s a novel idea, the issue needs to be left out of politics, which can be poisoned by Big Pharma and left to the voters. Just like gambling and abortion

We live in Kentucky and everyone knows that Kentucky has the best bourbon and horse racing. We have gambling and liquid elixir already, so why not legalize gambling and marijuana for recreational use?

I talk to a lot of law enforcement officers who say they rarely have an encounter with someone who is just high on weed. And when they do, they will tell you the stoners are funny and non-combative.

Drugs users who are on opioids, heroin and other potent drugs, however, are combative and dangerous to society. The cops say the stoners are lazy and stay at home and order pizza.

I say leave it to the voters. Put recreational and/or medical marijuana use on the ballot. Put gambling on the ballot. Let the voters decide. That way politics are out and it may even encourage more people to vote.

Thanks for reading the News-Express.