A Kentucky lawmaker introduced an adult-use legalization proposal in the House this week that has the fitting designation of House Bill 420.
The legislation, introduced Jan. 30 by Democratic Rep. Rachel Roberts and co-sponsored by Democratic Reps. Lisa Willner and Keturah Herron, would legalize cannabis possession and use for adults 21 and older, as well as create a roadmap for a commercial adult-use market.
H.B. 420 would create a cannabis regulatory board under the state’s Public Protection Cabinet that would be responsible for licensing adult-use cannabis businesses and overseeing the industry. Licensed sales would launch July 1, 2026, according to the bill text.
The legislation would levy a 9% tax on adult-use cannabis at both the wholesale and retail level, and it directs the state Treasury to establish a cannabis fund to hold fees, taxes and fines collected from the industry.
Some of the tax revenue would be used to cover the administrative costs of overseeing the adult-use program, while 30% of the remaining funds would be allocated to a Social Impact Council, which “is to directly address the impact of economic disinvestment, violence, and historical overuse of criminal justice responses to community and individual needs by providing resources to support local design and control of community-based responses to these impacts,” according to the bill text.
The bill directs the remaining tax revenue to fund reentry programs and job training for those residing in communities that were disproportionately impacted the war on drugs.
H.B. 420 also includes expungement provisions for those previously convicted of misdemeanor cannabis possession, distribution or manufacturing offenses.
Roberts’ legalization proposal joins one introduced last month by Democratic Rep. Nima Kulkarni. Kulkarni’s House Bill 72, filed Jan. 2, would allow cannabis possession and use for adults 21 and older, and it would authorize the home cultivation of up to five plants for personal use, but the legislation would not establish a commercial adult-use cannabis market.
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Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed legislation last year to legalize medical cannabis; regulators are expected to promulgate rules by July 1, 2024, to govern the commercial market.
