Kansas Lawmakers to Review Medical Cannabis Legalization

Kansas lawmakers will meet twice this month to review medical cannabis legislation ahead of next year’s legislative session, KSNT reports. The Special Committee on Medical Marijuana will meet on October 12 and October 19 to go over the bill’s details and to hear testimony from law enforcement, state agencies, local government representatives, and the public. 

Law enforcement, state agencies, and local government representatives will provide testimony on October 12, while the public will provide testimony on October 19, the report says.

State lawmakers failed to pass the reforms last session but state Sen. Rob Olson (R) said he expected medical cannabis would be “in full effect in the next few years.”

The House passed a version of the bill in 2021 but it stalled in the Senate. The chambers had convened a conference committee last May to work on the bill but negotiators were unable to finish the legislation before the Legislature adjourned.

Under the legislation drafted by the committee, medical cannabis would have been available to patients suffering from one of more than 20 qualifying conditions and allowed to obtain a 30-day supply with a purchase limit of three ounces for flower products, which would be capped at 35% THC. Physician recommendations would be valid for 90 days, after which they would have required renewal for another 90 days.

Last month, the Wichita City Council voted 5-4 to decriminalize cannabis in the city, the report says.

Spencer Duncan, deputy mayor of Topeka and City Council member, told KSNT that the capital city may also consider decriminalization reforms but not until 2023. He said city officials were waiting to see how decriminalization played out in Wichita, Kansas.

“It’s okay to use other cities as Guinea Pigs for lack of a better word, and see… did your program work, and where didn’t it work, and then take the things that work from those ideas,” he said.