Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) says it’s time for lawmakers in the state to finally legalize medical marijuana.
The governor called for the reform on Wednesday, as she allowed a separate right-to-try bill to become law without her signature. That measure is intended to give people with debilitating or life-threatening conditions broader access to experimental medications.
“This bill gives Kansans with debilitating disease the option to make choices about their medical care,” Kelly said in a statement about the bill, SB 250. “Now I think it’s time for the Legislature to finally legalize medical Marijuana, giving the Kansans suffering from chronic pain or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and children suffering with Dravet’s Syndrome (epilepsy) the choice of the treatment they and their doctors determine best suits their needs.”
Notably, lawmakers earlier this year considered but ultimately rejected an amendment that would have added cannabis to the right-to-try bill. The lawmaker behind that effort, Sen. Cindy Holscher (D), said her intention was not to create a public medical marijuana system, however.
Sen. Mike Thompson (R) disparaged the idea at the time. “The term medical cannabis is nothing but a marketing ploy,” he said.
Polling from late last year shows that nearly three quarters (73 percent) of Kansans support legalizing medical marijuana. About six in 10 (61 percent) respondents also said they supported legalizing cannabis for broader adult use.
Legislators have nevertheless repeatedly shot down reform efforts.
The House of Representatives passed a medical cannabis bill in 2021, for example, but it stalled out in the Senate. And after numerous hearings on the issue, the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee voted last March to table a limited medical marijuana pilot program bill.
A later effort to revive the medical cannabis bill on the Senate floor ultimately fell short.
Hellbound and Down 