813. An Open Letter to My Fellow Democrats on Marijuana

2019 General Assembly - Hemp - Marijuana

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Friends --

The voters of Kentucky made one thing clear in November.  The Pension Crisis wasn't enough to turn out Republican legislators at the ballot box.  While the entire nation had a good night for Democrats, we in Kentucky quite honestly only did so in very few places.  For that we should be thrilled as we are sending some excellent new folks to the General Assembly, new blood, new ideas, new perspectives.  But we're already behind after this foolish Special Session.  The main reason given by GOP members in the House for its failure was the differences in this bill from that of SB151 in the 2018 Regular Session.  Jerry Miller and his pals will be back with SB151 as soon as they are able in the upcoming session.  Do we have a plan or are we just opposed to theirs?  The governor has moved money into the pensions by cutting services elsewhere and raising taxes which mostly affect working class people. If we are going to counter that, we had better have a plan that isn't just opposition to theirs and provides some stream of revenue that can be directed to the pensions.

As all of you know, a generation ago, Gatewood Galbraith started a movement to legalize hemp and marijuana in Kentucky. I voted for Gatewood twice, in 1983 for Ag Commissioner against David Boswell and again in 1991 against Brereton Jones for governor.  He ran last in both primaries but I'm still proud of those votes.  Gatewood's movement has finally come to fruition all these years later.  The problem for us is the Republicans, for the moment, own the matter.  Senator Mitch McConnell got himself onto the committee writing the final farm bill for the sole purpose of inserting hemp language and then made sure it got passed in Washington. When the president signed the bill two days ago, before the close of business on that same day, Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles submitted the necessary paperwork to the federal Department of Agriculture (USDA), which the bill requires, for Kentucky to begin its program.  He already had the program in place waiting for the president's signature, making Kentucky the first state in the Republic to apply for USDA approval of its hemp program.

My point?  The Democrats in the General Assembly and those running for governor, and any other leaders of the State Democratic Party, better get on board quickly, as in by the end of the year and certainly by the gaveling in of the new Session, on this issue and push the envelope much further, to full legalization.  We're not winning with the Pension issue.  But we can if we have a revenue stream.  We can if we have an issue.  Right now the GOP owns the hemp issue.  McConnell created it just as he did the Tobacco Buyout Program in 2004 cementing the votes and support of tobacco planters and sellers throughout the Commonwealth. We cannot wait or McConnell and Quarles will completely own this issue by January.  Hemp is here.  Recreational marijuana is not.  

A lawyer friend of mine originally from Shelbyville offered me this quote earlier today.  He said, "I can see this Fancy Farm line: "You're right Governor, marijuana is illegal today.  And you're also right that I wouldn't want my child to use it today.  But I'll tell you what.  I'd rather be high on an illegal substance than have a first term mired by illegal bills, low approval ratings, and no substance."  If we want to capture the imagination and votes of both younger Kentuckians for whom this is a no-brainer and older Kentuckians who may see this as an alternative to expensive medicine, push the envelope.  Hemp is here and Trump, McConnell, and Quarles own the issue.  Recreational marijuana, properly controlled and taxed, is out there on the horizon waiting for Kentucky Democrats to reach out and make it theirs.  Don't wait. 

Jeff Noble

Kentucky Democratic Party State Central Executive Committee 

At-Large member