Visitors of our site often ask, “When will I be able to get a Kentucky Marijuana Card?” Not far behind that question is, “What kinds of medical marijuana products will be available in Kentucky dispensaries?”
There is no way to be certain about the answer to either of those questions, but we can make some pretty good guesses as to the types of products that will be available once Kentucky finally joins the thirty-seven states that have legalized medical marijuana.
Current Bills Offer Hints About Medical Marijuana Products That Will Be Available
Until a law is actually passed, we have no way of knowing what medical marijuana products will be available in Kentucky. That being said, we know that as a conservative state, Kentucky will likely follow other similar states, providing a limited number of options to separate medical marijuana use from recreational marijuana.
Smoking Medical Marijuana Will Most Likely Be Prohibited
Kentucky is most likely to follow the models of other conservative states, so smoking marijuana will most likely be banned. SB 46, the law that established Alabama’s medical marijuana market, prohibits both smoking and vaping medical marijuana.
And indeed, the most current version of HB 136, the medical marijuana bill that Representative Jason Nemes introduced to the House in February, would ban smoking marijuana.
Raw Marijuana Flower Will Likely Be Legal
In some other ways, HB 136 would be more permissive than the laws of other conservative states. For example, HB 136 would allow for the sale of raw marijuana flower, even though smoking your medicine would technically be illegal.
Of course no one is going to watch you take your medicine once you get it home, so you could still smoke marijuana under the most recent version of HB 136 without facing legal consequences. However, the option of raw flower also means you could vape your medicine, which may be the safer way to go.
Vaping Medical Marijuana is Generally Seen as Safer Than Smoking
People have been smoking marijuana for thousands of years, but tradition is one of the few advantages smoking offers over vaping. When you weigh the pros and cons, vaping offers a lot of benefits over smoking.
Less odor
Vaporizers don’t completely eliminate the scent of your medicine, but the smell is minimal when compared to smoking. Vaporizing produces the same effects with less product, so the cost of a vaporizer is offset by stretching your supply of medicine.
More consistent dosing
Dosing is more consistent with vaporizing than it is with smoking. Each “hit” from a vaporizer offers roughly the same amount of medicine, whereas smoking “hits” are more inconsistent and hard to keep track of.
Fast-Acting Relief
Vaporizing medical marijuana offers similar quick relief as smoking, but it’s easier on the lungs and allows for the ingestion of fewer unwanted elements of your medicine, like those aforementioned “potentially hazardous compounds.”
Vaporizers heat up substances until they create an aerosol, but they do not actually cause the substances to combust. So, when you vaporize an oil containing medical marijuana, you get an aerosol that is easier on the lungs than smoking and is more medicinal with far less tar and carcinogens.
Availability of Raw Flower Would Mean Significant Savings for Patients With More Participation in Medical Marijuana Market
Raw flower marijuana is the most affordable form of the medicine, because it doesn’t have to be processed in any significant way before it hits the dispensary shelves. No processing means the costs of processing aren’t passed onto consumers.
With those cost savings, participation in the medical marijuana market is stimulated, ultimately benefiting all patients, not just those who purchase the flower.
Participation in the medical marijuana market in Minnesota is expected to quadruple thanks to their recent addition of cannabis flower. That’s big news, considering that Minnesota’s medical marijuana market has struggled to grow due largely to their high prices.
Furthermore, as participation increases, costs in general are likely to decrease. Minnesota is also a reminder that some states initially pass restrictive marijuana laws, only to loosen them up once voter demand (and the lack of apocalyptic consequences from legal medical marijuana) persuade lawmakers to expand treatment options. In 2021, for example, both Texas and Minnesota expanded their programs.
Say “Ahhh”: HB 136 Would Allow for Oral Dosing Methods
Aside from raw flower, the only form of medical marijuana allowed under the current version of HB 136 would be “Medicinal cannabis products intended for oral consumption as an edible, oil, or tincture.”
Oral Consumption of Medical Marijuana Offers Several Advantages
Taking your medicine orally offers several advantages over other popular methods of dosing. For one, orally dosing produces even less odor than vaping, so you don’t have to worry about being judged for your personal medical choices.
Oral consumption also allows for more precise dosing compared to other methods, after only a little practice.
Dr. Andrew Talbott, medical advisor to the Utah-based medical marijuana advocacy group TRUCE, explains how the effects of orally ingested cannabis are delayed. As a result, inexperienced patients may think their medication isn’t working and consume additional doses before the first one has taken effect, becoming overmedicated as a result.
Once you’ve figured out your dosing needs, edibles and cannabis-infused oils allow for easy, precise doses.
What are Tinctures?
Tinctures would also be allowed under the current version of HB 136 which also provide odorless, precise dosing. Unlike edibles and oils, however, many people are unfamiliar with tinctures.
Tinctures are “concentrated herbal extracts made by soaking the bark, berries, leaves (dried or fresh), or roots from one or more plants in alcohol or vinegar.” Tinctures are made using an oil, alcohol, or vinegar base that pulls the active ingredients from the plant parts and concentes them as a liquid.
Tinctures are often (and traditionally were always) alcohol based, and if raw cannabis flower is allowed in Kentucky, you will be able to easily make your own. Just soak marijuana in high-proof alcohol, strain out the residual solid plant parts, and voila, homemade medicine!
Whether alcohol, vinegar, or oil based, tinctures are taken either sublingually or by swallowing them with some food or drink. When dosing sublingually, place the medicine under your tongue, hold it there for about a minute, and then swallow it. The active ingredients in the tincture will absorb directly into your bloodstream, taking effect within 20 minutes or less.
Tinctures are often a favored delivery method among doctors, because they are long-lasting and easy on the lungs. Because tinctures aren’t absorbed through the digestive tract, unless you take them with food or water, they are easier on patients’ stomachs than other oral delivery options.
Tinctures are often available in formulations that emphasize CBD content, so they offer a lot of medicinal value and relief without the side effects that other forms of medical marijuana provide.
We Have to Wait to Learn What Kentucky’s Medical Marijuana Law Will Allow, but You Don’t Have to Wait to Get Started
Then only thing we’re sure of with medical marijuana is that medical marijuana will come to Kentucky sooner or later. Beyond that, we’ll just have to wait and see!
You don’t have to wait to get started on your medical marijuana journey. Reserve an evaluation online today with one of our qualified, compassionate doctors, and we’ll book an appointment for you as soon as Kentucky’s medical marijuana market is up and running. You’ll save $25 off the cost of your evaluation by reserving an evaluation today!
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Helping everyone achieve wellness safely and conveniently through increased access to medical marijuana. Our focus on education, inclusion, and acceptance will reduce the stigma for our patients by providing equal access to timely information and compassionate care.
If you have any questions, call us at (833) 781-6360, or simply reserve a medical marijuana evaluation to start getting relief you can trust as soon as it’s available!
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