Barry Grissom: It’s way past time to drop Kansas’ cruel and pointless marijuana laws | Opinion

From 2010 to 2016, I served as the U.S. attorney for the District of Kansas and oversaw an office that worked on drug prosecution — so some find it puzzling to learn that for several years now, following a return to private practice, I have also been a vocal advocate of legalizing medical cannabis.

It was as a federal prosecutor working through hundreds of drug cases that I truly realized how much enforcing restrictive marijuana laws is simply a waste of valuable resources. Beyond the waste of taxpayer dollars to investigate, arrest, prosecute and incarcerate thousands of Kansans, marijuana prohibition also drains the time and energy of our police officers, county attorneys, judges and other public servants who could be otherwise focused on more pressing issues of public safety.

Cannabis prohibition is simply bad public policy.

In this moment, with multiple bills floating in the 2023 legislative session, I believe Kansas lawmakers must jump on the opportunity to modernize this state and make medical marijuana available to the thousands of Kansans who need it. The time for better cannabis law is now.

A couple years ago, I represented a young man with significant medical issues who was charged for marijuana possession in Lawrence. It was a clear miscarriage of justice, and I worked for him during the long, drawn-out process of filing a clemency application. In 2021, he received clemency from Gov. Laura Kelly. He was one of eight individuals in a round of pardons and commutations unprecedented for Kansas.

Similarly, I have another client who is an active military service member who completed three deployments. He suffers from serious PTSD, for which the recommendation is psychotropic drugs, but the side effects render him unable to do his job. After trial and error, he has found that marijuana is simply the best solution for managing his symptoms while allowing him to continue working the job he loves — serving this country.

Unfortunately, he was recently arrested for marijuana possession as he was returning from another state to Kansas. After a period of severe stress for him and his family, the charge was dismissed.

Had he been convicted, he could have lost all of his VA benefits, despite having given so much to his country. In a disturbing twist, he would have been punished for trying to alleviate the issues that were the very consequence of his service to our country.

In 2018, marijuana possession made up 52% of all drug arrests in Kansas. That means more than half of drug enforcement work in the state went to marijuana possession — not big busts or intent to distribute, but simple possession. It is baffling and troubling that the state of Kansas continues to criminalize thousands of Kansans for using a medical treatment they genuinely and deeply need to improve their lives. It should not take a historic decision by the governor or another extraordinary set of circumstances for people to be treated with fairness and understanding.

At the core of the state lawmakers’ jobs is the responsibility to make life better for everyday people. We owe it to military members, parents, teachers and other Kansans to abandon the cynicism and bad faith that characterize our current criminalization of marijuana . We must respect their agency to take care of themselves. We owe it to the medical providers who help patients identify the best possible relief they need for their suffering. And we owe it to law enforcement and other public servants to enable them to better focus on making our state a safe place to live.

The Legislature has a few proposals to consider allowing marijuana to be regulated equitably and begin to unravel the untold harm that cannabis criminalization has wrought. This is the moment of opportunity to better utilize our state’s resources, support local businesses and alleviate suffering through better public policy in Kansas.

So, Kansas lawmakers: The time for medical marijuana is now. The time to make thousands of Kansans’ lives better is now.