A New Year, New Page: Kansas Introduces Medical Marijuana Bill

Soft Secrets
16 Jan 2021

People of Kansas could really benefit from access to basic cannabis medicine.


Kansas, one of 14 remaining U.S. states without access to medical cannabis, has moved to introduce a new legalization bill. Lawmakers still need to vote on it. According to a local KSNT report, Kansas lawmakers introduced a medical cannabis legalization bill on January 13, backed by the Kansas Cannabis Industry Association.  Supporters said they are confident enough lawmakers would support the bill if it were voted on. The bill would introduce a regulated system, ensuring the product is safe, and tax is collected, they said.  Spencer Duncan, Executive Director of the Kansas Cannabis Industry Association, said he is confident the bill could boost the state’s economy.  “We don’t want to miss the economic benefits of that, but we also don’t want to miss the true benefits that have been discovered as other states have gotten into it, and that we’ve heard from people firsthand even here in Kansas that have used it in other states and that’s the number one priority,” Duncan said.  “Helping people get medical access to something that clearly has a beneficial effect,” he said. Cannabis has been a matter of controversy in Kansas in the past.  According to Kansas law, possession of marijuana is treated as a misdemeanor, and there are hefty penalties, including $2,500 fines and up to a year of incarceration.  The City of Wichita Marijuana Decriminalization Initiative tried to change that when it was included on the ballot for Wichita voters in 2015 and approved. However, the next year, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled the initiative invalid.  The Wichita initiative was designed to change the city law to lessen first-time infraction penalties for possessions of up to 32 grams (roughly 1.13 ounces) of cannabis to a fine of $50. At the same time, it sought to eliminate first-time violators from serving jail time. Under the initiative, small marijuana possession was seen as a matter of citation and summons instead of arrest. Overshadowed by state laws, the initiative still faltered.
Map of Cannabis Legality in the USA by State
A map showcasing legality of cannabis in the U.S.
In 2015, Kansas was also shaken by the case of resident Shona Banda, a medical cannabis user with Crohn’s disease, one of the illnesses shown to improve with cannabis medicine administration significantly. Banda’s case drew nationwide attention as she was arrested and initially charged with five felony counts related to cannabis. Her case mobilized over 80,000 people from the U.S. to support an online petition and help fund Banda’s case in court. Kansas is in the last batch of states that have no regulation of medical or any cannabis whatsoever. As of November 4, 2020, voters in Mississippi and South Dakota moved to approve a measure to regulate cannabis for medical use, bringing the total to 36 states and four territories that regulate medical cannabis. In the same elections, voters in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota approved measures to regulate recreational cannabis, bringing a total of 15 states and three territories. South Dakota became the first state with a conservative stance on cannabis that switched to regulating both medical and recreational cannabis in the same election.
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