Is Kansas finally ready to legalize medical marijuana? It’s about time
Kansans are telling lawmakers they want medical marijuana. In 2020, legislators should recognize the momentum that’s building and authorize limited access to cannabis.
A special legislative committee heard testimony Wednesday about the issue. More than two dozen groups and individuals provided oral or written support for medical marijuana in Kansas.
Supporters include patients, nurses, professors and activist groups. Some told the committee they use marijuana to relieve chronic pain and disease.
“There are a lot of citizens saying ‘we do want this,’” Nick Reinecker, a former Republican political candidate, told the committee.
There are ongoing disputes about the efficacy of marijuana and THC, its active ingredient, in medical treatment. And it’s essential that the medical community and the federal government intensify efforts to understand the therapeutic benefits of medicinal pot.
But there is no argument that some patients attribute their pain relief to use of the substance. Their voices cannot be ignored.
Nor can the views of people in other states. Colorado has already endorsed medicinal and recreational marijuana. Oklahomans approved medical cannabis in 2018. Missouri voters, confronted by a confusing series of marijuana ballot measures, legalized its limited use for medical purposes last year.
Medical marijuana should be available in Missouri early next year.
On three Kansas borders, voters have supported the option of medical marijuana. More than 30 states allow some use of medical cannabis.
Increasingly, Kansas is the outlier, which contributes to confusion surrounding cannabis laws and regulations while denying patients the pain relief they seek.
Legal medical marijuana wouldn’t dispose of all these questions because the substance remains illegal under federal law. Several Kansas law enforcement officials testified against medical cannabis at Wednesday’s hearing, claiming it doesn’t work and could lead to other legal problems. One compared it to snake oil.
Those witnesses seem less compelling, though, than the men and women who believe marijuana helps ease their pain.
Gov. Laura Kelly has endorsed a “well-regulated” marijuana program, and Kansas should follow her lead. A bill discussed earlier this year would have established a “cannabis compliance agency” to oversee the availability of medical marijuana, along with other restrictions. That legislation is one place to start.
The committee hearing testimony Wednesday adjourned without discussion. It may make a recommendation to the full Legislature next week.
Kansas should make this debate a top priority in 2020. The public’s attitude about marijuana use is changing each day, and the state needs to accept that fact.