(LEX 18) — Governor Andy Beshear's executive order on medical marijuana took effect more than a month ago, but Kentuckians who want to use medical marijuana still need to travel out of state to buy it.
A few weeks ago, we rode along with another local journalist, Karyn Czar, as she made the trip to Illinois to purchase marijuana for medical use.
The round-trip drive from Lexington to Thrive Dispensary in Mount Vernon is more than 300 miles along Interstate 64. The route runs through Louisville and across state lines, taking almost a full day and multiple tanks of gas.
At the dispensary in southern Illinois, shoppers can buy marijuana for medical or recreational purposes, depending on where they live.
But for Czar, this trip wasn't about getting high.
"It was a big choice to come and try this," she told us.
She's a reporter for radio station WUKY. You've likely heard her voice on the early morning airwaves.
Czar was also diagnosed with multiple myeloma last year; the cancer impacts blood and bone marrow production. She's now completed multiple rounds of chemotherapy, and doctors say she's on the right track.
But that doesn't mean Czar isn't struggling with the side effects of treatment. Cancer has kept her out of the field as a reporter and off the stage as an actress.
So in January, Czar asked her doctor for paperwork documenting her diagnosis, hoping medical marijuana might be the key to dealing with side effects including tremors, nausea, and appetite loss.
"If this is the difference between me getting back to theater, getting back to field work as a reporter, it's hard to say no," she said.
As a first-time buyer and journalist, Czar decided to document her experience and invited us to travel with her. Once we arrived at Thrive Dispensary, we couldn't take our camera inside because of the business's privacy policy, but they allowed us to record audio as an employee helped her decide which products to buy.
Czar is not a resident of Illinois, so she can only buy marijuana intended for recreational use. It's more expensive and the amount she could purchase was limited to half of what an Illinois resident could buy.
The options inside Thrive ranged from flower to edibles and even savory snacks. Czar decided on THC gummies and a topical cream. About 20 minutes later, Czar checked out with $106 worth of products and tried them both before we hit the road.
It was almost an hour later when Czar discovered the cream was making a difference for the numbness in her leg.
"It's still tingly, but I can feel a weight on it now, and I now have a perception of how far I'm lifting it up," she said.
Despite the relief she's gotten, Czar still has concerns about consuming cannabis. Medical marijuana remains illegal in the Commonwealth and transporting it across state lines is against federal law.
Czar also worries using pot could impact her ability to access a bone marrow transplant if she needs one.
But she now finds herself hoping Kentucky lawmakers will soon pass legislation legalizing medical marijuana, so others like her can buy it closer than hundreds of miles away from home.
"When I took that pill or gummy, rather, and I could feel my leg again, I just wanted to cry," she said. "And there are people suffering everyday, and that tiny little gummy is going to make a difference for them."
We also spoke with Kentucky NORML, a non-profit working to reform marijuana laws. They're also educating people about what the governor's executive order does and does not do — namely, the order does not make marijuana possession legal, but it pertains to pardons for Kentuckians if they have documentation of an approved illness.
The organization wants people to know until medical marijuana becomes legal in Kentucky through legislation, there are risks involved.
There are also financial challenges. Many Kentuckians can't afford to make a hours-long trip to buy marijuana.
And doctors can't prescribe medical marijuana, so patients are left to try it on their own and figure out how it affects them.
So far, Kentucky's neighboring states of Illinois, Ohio, West Virginia, and Missouri have legalized medical marijuana. But they all have different rules, so it's not as simple as just picking some up.
