Gov. Andy Beshear signed an executive order Tuesday directing Kentucky's Office of Medical Cannabis to issue an emergency regulation clarifying qualifying conditions for medical cannabis, effectively making 15 additional medical conditions eligible for the treatment.

The newly clarified conditions include terminal illness, sickle cell anemia, ALS, Parkinson's disease, HIV, AIDS, Huntington's disease, muscular dystrophy, cachexia or wasting syndrome, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, neuropathies, severe arthritis, fibromyalgia and glaucoma.

Beshear said the executive order addresses ambiguity in the state's existing medical cannabis law. The 2023 statute permitted medical cannabis for conditions including cancer, chronic pain, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, chronic nausea and post-traumatic stress disorder. However, Beshear noted that some conditions listed in the law—such as chronic pain and muscle spasms—are themselves symptoms of other serious illnesses, creating confusion about which patients actually qualify.

"Too much is at risk to just stand by and let the law's lack of clarity leave Kentuckians without relief," Beshear said at a press conference announcing the action.

The governor estimates the emergency regulation could allow more than 400,000 additional Kentuckians to potentially qualify for medical cannabis access. The order comes after the legislature declined to expand the qualifying condition list during the 2026 session.

Rachel Roberts, executive director of the Kentucky Cannabis Industry Association, praised the move. "If your doctor has diagnosed you with one of these conditions, you already qualify," Roberts said in a statement. "You don't need to wonder. You can obtain your medical cannabis card, walk into a Kentucky-licensed dispensary and access medicine that has met our own state's rigorous safety and testing standards."

Dr. Linda McClain, a member of the Board of Physicians and Advisors for the medical cannabis program, called the clarification "a huge step in reducing, hopefully, the patient's confusion." Rebecca Seavers, president of the Sickle Cell Association of Kentuckiana, praised the inclusion of sickle cell anemia, saying opioids are currently prescribed for sickle cell patients.

Kentucky currently has 32 medical cannabis businesses operating and more than 500 registered medical cannabis practitioners, with more than 23,700 Kentuckians approved for medical cannabis cards.