RECOMMENDING CANNABIS IN KENTUCKY

If you are a physician practicing medicine at a hospital or clinic affiliated with a Kentucky public university, you may issue a "written order" to a patient for CBD oil as long as the order is written for the cure, mitigation, treatment, prevention, or diagnosis or diagnosis of any disease.

Healthcare providers such as doctors of medicine or doctors of osteopathy who are licensed to practice medicine in the Commonwealth of Kentucky or in the jurisdiction of the individual’s residence and who are in good standing with the appropriate licensure board within the Commonwealth of Kentucky or in the jurisdiction of the individual’s home may write a patient recommendation

A physician must provide the patient with a written certification which includes the following:

  • The patient’s name, date of birth, home address and telephone number;
  • The physician’s name, address, telephone number, and professional license number;
  • A statement that the physician has a bona fide physician-patient relationship with the patient;
  • A statement by the physician that in his or her professional opinion the patient suffers from a medical condition listed in the order.

Qualifying Medical Conditions include:

  • Cancer
  • Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gherig’s disease
  • Epilepsy
  • Intractable seizures
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Crohn’s disease
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Sickle Cell Anemia
  • Severe and chronic pain
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Cachexia (Wasting Syndrome)
  • Neuropathies
  • Severe Arthritis
  • Hepatitis C
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Muscular Dystrophy
  • Huntington’s disease
  • Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)
  • Glaucoma
  • A terminal illness

Medical professionals have a legal right to recommend cannabis as a treatment in any state, as protected by the First Amendment. Established by a 2004 United States Supreme Court decision to uphold earlier federal court rulings that found doctors and their patients have a fundamental Constitutional right to freely discuss treatment options.

More resources for medical professionals can be found here.