In Kansas, the fight over medical marijuana has not ended. In an effort to get legislation passed, lawmakers have presented a few new proposals in the legislature recently. Sales of marijuana in Missouri, across the border, have skyrocketed. Vendors in Missouri have made $642 million in sales since the legalization of medical marijuana in the state in October 2020.
As of this past Friday, recreational sales were added, so that figure is likely to rise. Slower than some would like, but support for medical marijuana in Kansas is on the rise. The dynamics are altered to some degree. Overland Park Democrat State Senator Cindy Holscher noted that the movement’s grassroots beginnings could be seen by looking back three to four years.
She’s a member of the Senate’s Federal and State Affairs Committee, which recently got a bill last week that would set guidelines for the industry, including production, processing, distribution, retail, and patient usage.
On Tuesday, the committee also received another bill that would prioritize including veterans in the healthcare system. After a similar law passed the House but died in the Senate last year, Holscher is crossing her fingers that these bills make it to Governor Laura Kelly‘s desk this time around.
Others in the legislature have told her that they expect action to be taken before the end of the session. According to Daniel Shafton of the Kansas Cannabis Chamber of Commerce, “I think it is the most nonpartisan subject in our country right now, and that’s because it’s impossible to refute that marijuana helps people not suffer.”
It is the chamber’s mission to promote sensible cannabis legislation in the Cornhusker State. Shafton attended multiple interim committee hearings before the end of 2017 where lawmakers heard from advocates and opponents of legalization.
Shafton and Senator Holscher both agree that there has been a shift in opinion among legislators. They aren’t giving any thought to how much money could be made. To avoid the problems experienced in other jurisdictions, they are asking, “Is there a safe/legitimate method to accomplish this in our state?”
I find this to be an admirable line of inquiry. There is currently no estimated timeframe for the committee to evaluate the bills. Kelly has already stated that she would approve a medicinal cannabis law if it were to pass both houses of the legislature.
