LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky’s U.S. Senate candidates agree growing hemp is a good thing for the state, but they differ about the cannabis plant’s more potent cousin, marijuana.
Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes told a statewide radio show on Thursday that she favors having a discussion on whether to legalize marijuana, especially for medical purposes.
“I’m in favor of having the discussion especially to reclassify the use of marijuana. We haven’t had a senator that’s even wanted to have those discussions though,” Grimes told Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio.
Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell said Friday he opposes the legalization of marijuana in all circumstances, including for medical purposes.
“We ought to be fighting drugs. We’ve got a huge heroin problem in this state. Northern Kentucky is the epicenter of heroin. I don’t like the message that it sends,” McConnell said after speaking at an event in Lexington.
Kentucky’s state and federal officials have softened their stance toward the cannabis plant in recent years, mirroring a trend across the country. The state legislature passed a bill earlier this year allowing doctors at two state research universities to prescribe cannabidiol to treat patients. Supporters note that cannabidiol, which comes from the cannabis plant, has been effective in treating seizures in children.
___
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A Louisville man has been sentenced to death for the 1983 slaying of a mother of five children.
Jefferson Circuit Judge James Shake on Friday followed a jury’s recommendation and sent Larry Lamont White to death row at the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville for death of Pamela Armstrong. Armstrong was a 22-year-old mother of five who was raped and shot twice in the head on June 4, 1983.
WLKY-TV in Louisville (https://bit.ly/1wNZWSZhttps://bit.ly/1wNZWSZ ) reported that Armstrong’s family expressed satisfaction with the sentence.
White was convicted in 1985 of killing 22-year-old Deborah Miles and 21-year-old Yolanda Sweeney, who were killed near where Armstrong’s body was discovered. White was sentenced to death. The Kentucky Supreme Court overturned his conviction.
White later pleaded guilty and accepted a sentence of 28 years in prison.
___
___
ASHLAND, Ky. (AP) - A national group that focuses on missing children is hoping the 30th anniversary of the disappearance of two Kentucky kids will help lead to their whereabouts.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Virginia has been publicizing the cases of Chipley Sanders and James Bess of Ashland, Kentucky.
Sanders and Bess were each 13 when they disappeared from a group home on Oct. 4, 1984. The organization says the boys ran away and haven’t been heard from since.
Sanders has a pale birthmark on his back over his left shoulder. Bess has grayish blue eyes and he has a scar on the right side of his waist.
The Ashland Police Department also has an open file on the two boys.
______
___
CINCINNATI (AP) - U.S. Coast Guard and state investigative teams were working Friday at the Ohio River area where two off-duty FBI employees were killed in a collision between a barge and a small pleasure boat, trying to piece together how the accident occurred.
The two men’s boat hit a 600-foot barge late Thursday in the river between Cincinnati and Newport, Kentucky. The two were found dead on the boat when fire crews arrived, authorities said.
“It is with great sadness that we advise that two FBI employees were involved in a tragic accident late last night,” the FBI said in a statement Friday.
FBI spokesman Todd Lindgren said they were Cincinnati division employees but not special agents. They were identified as John Stack II, 29, and Bruce Eastlick, 28. No other information about them was released immediately.
Authorities said the barge was heading upriver, toward West Virginia.
The boat was heading toward the barge, said Hank Patton, director of law enforcement for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Then it made a 90-degree turn in front of the barge.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.