KENTUCKY — We are just a couple of weeks away from the end of 2022, which means Andy Beshear (D), who was first elected in 2019 as the 63rd Governor of the Commonwealth, is about to wrap up his third year in office.

And during this year-in-review sit down interview, Gov. Beshear reflects on the year and comments on several topics and issues, including a record year for economic growth.

“We are right now in our best two-year period of economic growth that the Commonwealth has ever seen. The last two years we’ve seen $20 billion of new investment. And in the three years I’ve been governor, about 43,000 jobs. This year about $10 billion in new investment and about 15,000 new jobs, just extraordinary. It’s everything from the electric vehicle battery industry, where we have become the national leader to almost $2 billion of new investment in bourbon just this year. What it means is that Kentucky is going to be an economic leader, never a follower again. And this is our chance to not just leapfrog 10 other states economies, but to be a top 10 state economy,” shared Gov. Beshear.

Beshear also discusses his decision in Nov. 2022, to issue an executive order related to medical cannabis use.

“Oh, it’s critical. I couldn’t lose another veterans suffering from PTSD that this would have helped. Talking to families that have children with epileptic seizures, maybe even every minute. Somebody’s staring at a bottle of opioids, saying I know how addictive these are. We have people out there that are hurting, that are hurting, and this can provide some real relief. And after we’ve seen the devastation that opioids caused all across Kentucky, this is an opportunity for those in chronic pain or suffering from other conditions to get relief. I had hoped that the legislature would have acted by now and we’re one of maybe a dozen states that doesn’t have medical marijuana. Now that it’s time has come and I just assault people who are hurting and while the executive order is imperfect, it’s imperfect because the legislature hasn’t acted,” added Beshear.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s executive order allows those meeting certain conditions to possess medical cannabis that was legally purchased in other states and it takes effect Jan. 1, 2023.

You can watch the full In Focus Kentucky segment in the player above.