Kansas Senator to Introduce Recreational and Medical Cannabis Bills

Kansas is slowly warming up to the concept of permitting medical and recreational cannabis. Sen. David Haley (D-Kansas City) plans on introducing two cannabis bills. One bill would allow the medical use of cannabis and the other would legalize cannabis for adults over the age of 21.

“We are in a very conservative state that requires a greater learning curve,” Haley stated. “Not to demean the intellect of the average Kansas legislator, but we are more, as a body, more conservative and averse to change or to accept the new ideas accepted by legislatures of other states.” Last year, Sen. Haley, along with Rep. Gail Finney (D-Wichita), proposed multiple medical cannabis bills, which died in committee hearings. The medical bill would allow cannabis for medicinal purposes with the recommendation or script from a doctor.

Haley pointed out the needless persecution along with the time and money spent on cannabis prohibition. Kansas is now home to a more moderate Legislature following the November 2016 election. Haley hopes that state lawmakers are ready to consider cannabis this time around. “There is a sense that both the Senate and the House will be more moderate and more receptive to potential revenue enhancement. I think we have enhanced the opportunity to do more this year,” he added.

Kansas, like many other states, is looking for a solution to its painkiller problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 332 people overdosed on opiates in Kansas in 2014, contributing to the nation’s total of 18,000 opiate deaths. Advocates and lawmakers have pointed out that opiate abuse has dropped in legal states such as Colorado.

Kansas does not have statewide statutory initiative, according to the Kansas Secretary of State’s office. Since state laws and amendments aren’t adopted by petition in Kansas, there would not be a public vote for the legalization of recreational or medical cannabis. Colorado, Washington, Alaska, Oregon, Massachusetts, Nevada, California and Maine have legalized recreational cannabis. Kansas would be an unlikely addition to the number of states that have experimented with legal cannabis.