Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has vetoed House Bill 4, banning diversity, equity and inclusion in Kentucky public universities and colleges. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer)
By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear opposes attempts to block marijuana reclassification, according to a letter he sent to the president.
Beshear recently sent a two-page letter to U.S. President Donald Trump asking him to also oppose “congressional appropriations language that would block the Drug Enforcement Administration from rescheduling marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act.”
“The DEA is already in the process of rescheduling marijuana from a Schedule I to Schedule III — a move that [Trump] supported in [his] presidential campaign,” Beshear’s letter reads. “That process should be allowed to play out.”
This letter comes as the U.S. House of Representatives’ Appropriation Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies passed language that states “none of the funds appropriated…by this act may be used to reschedule marijuana.” The process of rescheduling marijuana has been in process for “more than a year,” the governor’s letter stated.
Currently possession of a Schedule I substance is a Class D felony and could result in financial penalties between $1,000-$10,000 and a prison sentence up to three years whereas Schedule III possession is a Class A misdemeanor and carries a potential of a year in jail and a $500 fine.
Kentucky Revised Statute 218A defines Schedule I drugs as those with a “high potential for abuse and has no acceptable medical use in treatment in the United States.” Some Schedule I drugs include heroin, LSD, ecstasy, methaqualone, and peyote. The same statute states that Schedule III substance are those “substance[s that] has a potential for abuse less than the substances listed in Schedules I and II, has currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States and [whose] abuse…may lead to moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence.” Tylenol, ketamine and testosterone are all classified as Schedule III narcotics.
In July 2024, Beshear announced his support for the reclassification.
Beshear signed Senate Bill 47 on March 31, 2023 thereby making marijuana legal in medical contexts on Jan. 1, 2025.
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