WQXE News

The Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis launched the portal for patient medical cannabis card applications on January 1. 

Kentuckians, however, have been able to meet with authorized practitioners such as Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Marlena O’Neil with Heartland Medical Cannabis Health and Wellness since December 1.

“The medical certifications, we were able to start those at that time, and so we have been seeing patients since the beginning of December to qualify their medical conditions and provide education and make sure that they were safe for medical certification,” O’Neil said.

O’Neil is one of 267 authorized registered practitioners located in 68 counties across the commonwealth. She says while studying alternative therapies during her doctorate studies she learned more about medical cannabis, and she wanted to be part of the transition as Kentucky’s medical cannabis program debuted.

“We know by reading about cases in other states that medical cannabis works for many, many conditions, and we’re in the epicenter of the opioid crisis and other problems, so it just made sense,” O’Neil said.

O’Neil says the authorized registered practitioners are tasked with determining if a patient has a qualifying medical condition for medical cannabis. A patient who has previously been diagnosed with one of the qualifying conditions can visit a practitioner’s office, but O’Neil says that visit is more than just looking at a diagnosis.

“We also just have to qualify that there’s no contraindications and we have to provide follow-up care if they want or need that,” O’Neil said. “We have to make sure we’re educating on side effects, potential drug-to-drug interactions. We have to advise them not to operate a motor vehicle, heavy equipment, or make important decisions while under the influence of medical cannabis, so there’s certain guidelines set up by the state that we have to make sure that we’re covering at that visit as well for their safety.”

O’Neil says she hopes to eventually  set up educational opportunities through her office that go beyond the diagnostic elements of the process. 

Visit kymedcan.ky.gov to learn more about the state’s medical cannabis program and find registered practitioners like O’Neil.

A Radcliff man has been charged with Murder following the death of a child that was in his care.

The Elizabethtown Police Department arrested Terrance D. Corbin Thursday evening.

According to the EPD, Corbin was providing childcare for two children at a residence in Elizabethtown Tuesday afternoon. At approximately 4 p.m., Corbin contacted the  children’s mother and told her the 18-month-old was breathing abnormally. Corbin called 911 a few minutes later to report that the child was no longer breathing.

The EPD says officers who responded to the scene recognized the child was in dire condition and in need of immediate medical treatment, and transported the child to the Baptist Health Hardin emergency room. The child was then airlifted to Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville.

The EPD says medical evaluation of the child revealed “substantial swelling and bleeding in the soft tissue around her scalp and face, subdural hemorrhaging at multiple sites, and multiple skull fractures,” and a pediatrician who specializes in child abuse “noted the child’s skull fractures were the worst they had encountered during their time practicing medicine.” The child died from her injuries Thursday afternoon.

Corbin was arrested and charged with Murder. He remains incarcerated in the Hardin County Detention Center, where he is being held on a $500,000 cash bond. Corbin is due back in Hardin District Court on January 15.

(Photo Credit: Hardin County Detention Center)

Unemployment rates across the Lincoln Trail Area Development District were up in November from where they were the year prior. 

The Kentucky Center for Labor Statistics says unemployment rates increased in 119 of the state’s counties in November.

The state unemployment average for November was reported at 4.8 percent. That is a slight increase from the 4.7 percent average seen in October, and it is up from the 3.8 percent average that was reported in November of 2023. Five counties in the Lincoln Trail District had November unemployment rates higher than the state average, with three counties below the state average.

Hardin County’s unemployment rate for November 2024 was slightly above the state average at 4.9 percent. That’s a slight increase from the 4.8 percent rate reported in October and an increase from the 3.7 percent rate reported in November 2023.

Breckinridge County posted the highest unemployment rate in the Lincoln Trail District for November at 5.6 percent. Marion and Washington counties had the lowest rate in the district, and tied for the third-lowest rates in the state, at 3.9 percent.

Learn more about how the unemployment rate is calculated and find more labor market information by visiting kystats.ky.gov.