During debate on a drug bill before the Kansas House of Representatives on Wednesday, a Democratic lawmaker introduced an amendment that would have removed marijuana entirely from the state\u2019s controlled substances law, effectively legalizing it.<\/p>\n
The proposal ultimately failed on a 41\u201380 vote, a result that comes as more limited legislation to legalize medical cannabis also faces resistance<\/a> from some legislative leaders.<\/p>\n Rep. Silas Miller (D), who introduced the broad legalization amendment, described the measure to colleagues as \u201cthe first step towards having a better discussion\u201d about legalization, which the Senate has refused to consider in recent years despite evidence of strong support among voters.<\/p>\n A Kansas Speaks poll from last fall found that 67 percent of Kansans, including a majority of Republicans, support legalizing cannabis for all adults 21 and older.<\/a><\/p>\n Miller\u2019s proposed amendment would have made the change in a bill, HB 2596<\/a>, that otherwise adjusts the state\u2019s controlled substances act to conform with the federal Controlled Substances Act, a process undertaken annually in Kansas.<\/p>\n \u201cThis amendment essentially removes marijuana\u2014cannabis\u2014from the schedule entirely,\u201d Miller explained.<\/p>\n The proposal did not include changes to legalize commercial sales or regulate the marijuana market.<\/p>\n House lawmakers previously passed a medical cannabis bill in 2021<\/a>, but it failed to get traction in the Senate.<\/p>\n Some lawmakers said Wednesday that it\u2019s again time to put pressure on the Senate.<\/p>\n \u201cThe time has come once again for the Kansas House of Representatives to send a bill to the Senate and let them explain to their constituents why they won\u2019t act on it,\u201d said Rep. John Carmichael (D).<\/p>\n \u201cLet them explain to their constituents why they ignore the votes and the popular opinion and the instructions of their constituents\u2014be they vets that are suffering from injury, be they old people who find relief, be they people who are who are taking chemotherapy or be they people who, quite frankly, like to drink and occasionally like to smoke a little weed as well,\u201d he continued. \u201cIt\u2019s time for us to once again do what our constituents want us to do, and let the Senate suffer the consequences for its inaction.\u201d<\/p>\n Tried to start the conversation (again) in the KS Legislature about decriminalizing cannabis. Over 70% of Kansans want this, but it failed 41-80. Here\u2019s how your representatives voted: pic.twitter.com\/iSXpuEL2WH<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Silas (@silasjmiller) February 21, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Rep. Bill Clifford (R), the sponsor of the underlying drug bill, said the proposal was an unfriendly amendment and urged colleagues to vote against it.<\/p>\n \u201cLegalization of marijuana is a very serious issue that\u2019s being considered in many states. As you know, marijuana is still a Schedule I drug at the federal level, considered to have no medical value and high abuse potential,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we\u2019re going to have that debate, you need to vet that issue properly through the committee process, have hearings, put it across this floor and send it to the Senate or similar action.\u201d<\/p>\n Supporters, however, questioned whether legislative leadership would actually let that happen.<\/p>\n In the opposite chamber, Senate President Ty Masterson (R), who has been one of the key lawmakers to oppose medical marijuana in past sessions,\u00a0said late last year he\u2019s open to a discussion about a limited medical marijuana program<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m actually open to true medical marijuana or to palliative care,\u201d he said at the time. \u201cI am open to that. I am not saying no. I\u2019m just saying we don\u2019t have any real studies on dosing and distribution.\u201d<\/p>\n But last month, he appeared less open to the idea, calling medical legalization a \u201cnonstarter\u201d<\/a> and suggesting the policy change could lead to a surge in \u201cgang activity\u201d and put kids at risk.<\/p>\n He also suggested voters didn\u2019t understand medical marijuana. \u201cI think what people see when they think of medical, they\u2019re thinking of, you know, palliative care and things like that,\u201d Masterson said.<\/p>\n Masterson, who also helped kill the House-passed medical marijuana bill in 2021<\/a>, has downplayed popular support for broader adult-use cannabis legalization, suggesting voters don\u2019t understand the policy change.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at that question, I think most people would answer yes, but they don\u2019t know what they\u2019re actually saying yes to,\u201d the Senate president said.<\/p>\n In 2023, the Senate\u2019s Federal and State Affairs Committee\u00a0held several hearings on a medical cannabis reform bill<\/a>, but members ultimately voted to table it.<\/p>\n After the Senate committee shelved the medical marijuana bill, Gov. Laura Kelly (D) issued a statement urging the public to\u00a0contact their representatives to demand that they take the legislation back up for action<\/a>, but that did not happen before the end of the legislative session.<\/p>\n Kelly, who has long championed cannabis reform, said at the time that she was \u201cdisappointed that some legislators are saying they don\u2019t want to move forward with legalizing medical marijuana this year\u2014effectively turning their backs on our veterans and those with chronic pain and seizure disorders.\u201d<\/p>\n A year ago, in her 2023\u00a0State of the State address<\/a>, the governor said that there\u2019s a \u201ccommonsense way to improve health care here in Kansas\u2014and that\u2019s to finally legalize medical marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n The governor also said in 2021 that she would be \u201cenlisting the efforts of the people of Kansas who really want this\u201d to\u00a0pressure their lawmakers to get the reform enacted<\/a>.<\/p>\n Members of the state\u2019s Special Committee on Medical Marijuana\u00a0held final meetings on the issue<\/a>\u00a0in December 2022, as they worked to prepare legislation for the 2023 session. Sen. Rob Olson (R), who chaired the special panel, said that he believed Masterson removed him as chair of the Federal and State Affairs Committee\u00a0in retaliation for holding the medical marijuana hearings<\/a>.<\/p>\n Also in 2022, then-House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer (D) and Assistant Minority Leader Jason Probst (D) said they wanted to\u00a0let voters decide on legalizing medical and adult-use marijuana<\/a>\u00a0in the state.<\/p>\n The governor, for her part, previously pushed a separate proposal that would\u00a0legalize medical cannabis and use the resulting revenue<\/a>\u00a0to support Medicaid expansion, with Rep. Brandon Woodard (D)\u00a0filing the measure on the governor\u2019s behalf<\/a>.<\/p>\n Following President Joe Biden\u2019s announcement in 2022 on pardoning people who\u2019ve committed federal marijuana possession offenses and imploring governors to follow suit, Kelly said that her administration is \u201cfocused on legalizing medical marijuana<\/a>\u00a0so that Kansans with severe illnesses no longer have to suffer.<\/p>\n Kelly added that they will \u201ccontinue to consider all clemency and pardon requests based on a complete and thorough review of the individual cases.\u201d<\/p>\n The governor also said in 2020 that while she wouldn\u2019t personally advocate for adult-use legalization, she\u00a0wouldn\u2019t rule out signing the reform<\/a>\u00a0into law if a reform bill arrived on her desk.<\/p>\n Details On Virginia Marijuana Sales Compromise Offer Emerge As Lawmakers Work To Close Gaps Between Competing Bills<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Kansas Lawmakers Reject Marijuana Legalization Amendment<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
During debate on a drug bill before the Kansas House of Representatives on Wednesday, a Democratic lawmaker introduced an amendment that would have removed marijuana entirely from the state\u2019s controlled substances law, effectively legalizing it. The proposal ultimately failed on a 41\u201380 vote, a result that comes as more limitedContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72649"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72649"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72650,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72649\/revisions\/72650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Kansas Lawmakers Reject Marijuana Legalization Amendment<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"