Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear currently has the highest approval rating of all U.S. Democratic governors. That is no small feat, given his mostly Republican-leaning constituency. 

And that makes the latest Kentucky cannabis headline all the more notable: “Kentucky Governor Indicates Executive Cannabis Order Coming.” Read Associate Editor Tony Lange on the news out of Beshear’s state, where the legalization of medical cannabis may be forced into being by a leader frustrated with statehouse inaction. 

The question: Will Beshear follow through on this gesture toward executive order?

“The legal analysis is not yet finalized, but I do think that there is going to be room for at least some executive action,” Beshear said during a news conference. “Our challenge on putting together the task force is a positive one: It’s that there is so much interest. It is time for, call it, medical cannabis or medical marijuana in Kentucky. It is the will of the people. And there are folks out there suffering.”

An executive order like that would be a first, among U.S. states, and a great leap forward for a state that didn’t crack CBT’s list of most likely candidates for legalization this year. 

However this shakes out, the political news of the day in Kentucky will be well worth watching in the coming weeks.

We’ve rounded up some of the key cannabis headlines from the past week right here.

The FDA is warning five companies that they are marketing unapproved new drugs, misbranding their wares and unlawfully adding delta-8 THC to food products. Read more New Mexico’s adult-use cannabis market grossed nearly $39.5 million in combined medical and adult-use sales in April. Read more South Carolina will remain one of 13 states where medical cannabis is illegal in 2022 following a bill’s demise May 4 on the House floor. Read more The legal details are not fully ironed out, but Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear indicated May 5 that his administration forecasts an opening for an executive order on medical cannabis. Read more The list of hemp farmers approved to cash in on New York’s forthcoming adult-use cannabis market grew by 36 on April 5. Read more 

And elsewhere on the web, here are the stories we’ve been reading this week:

Hartford Courant: “More than 15,600 applications were submitted before this week’s deadline for a chance to be awarded one of the first dozen licenses to open a retail marijuana shop in Connecticut.” Read more WPLN: “Hemp and CBD are legal in Tennessee, but marijuana (medical and recreational) is not. So where does this leave Delta-8?” Read more Ruidoso News: Ruidoso, N.M., Mayor Lynn Crawford “expressed concern about whether the village's economy could support 11 cannabis businesses.” Read more Georgia Public Broadcasting: “The agency in charge of Georgia’s medical marijuana program voted unanimously Thursday to turn over responsibility for hearing protests of medical cannabis license awards to the Office of State Administrative Hearings.” Read more Brattleboro Reformer: The residents of Wilmington, Vt., confront the cannabis industry. Read more ]]>