Commonwealth Policy Center

Kentuckians’ approval of marijuana as medicine is at an all-time high. Ahem, no pun intended. According to a recently released poll by Kentucky Health Issues, 9 out of 10 Kentuckians favored legalizing medical marijuana. The strong poll numbers are fueled by pot’s promise to alleviate pain and address many other ailments. Much of this is based on anecdotal stories of how pot helped someone with their PTSD, seizures, or pain. But is this how a new drug should be introduced into society? The normal channel of drug legalization is through research, trial runs, and determination of dose-response testing, not by popular demand. It’s important that Kentucky gets this right in order to ensure that we’re not trading one drug crisis for another.