Kansas bill pushes pilot program for Medical Cannabis
After numerous failed attempts to make marijuana legal in Kansas, a new effort is underway.
Kansas Natural Remedies harvests hemp plants in the state. While hemp and marijuana plants are the same species, due to the low amount of THC in hemp, it does not classify as cannabis making it legal.
Kansas is one of 10 states that does not have a medical cannabis program. KNR Chief Operations Officer Sam Jones said the new proposed legislation would change that.
“What we did is we created a truly medical bill that has the appearance of being medical and will truly be medical by going through the pharmacies,” said Jones. “The types of products that you can purchase are those that you can expect for medicine. So tenures pills dryer optimization, which is like a nebulizer.”
Only Kansans with one of 16 medical conditions would qualify for the program. Those conditions include acquired immune deficiency syndrome, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, autism, cancer, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy or another seizure disorder, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, sickle cell anemia, spinal cord disease or injury, traumatic brain injury, ulcerative colitis or pain that is either chronic and severe or intractable.
“We looked through the medical literature,” said Jones. “We eliminated the ones that are not fully supported by the medical community. And we kept the ones that are. So chronic pain is a big one. Arthritis, PTSD, cancer. Those are the primary ones. Those have the most patients that are suffering.”
Kansas State Senator Cindy Holscher (D-Overland Park) believes the bill would contradict existing state laws.
“This bill could potentially cause the state to have legislation brought against us,” said Sen. Holscher. “Because again, there are certain regulations in place when it comes to municipal cannabis that we as a state have to adhere to. And if we don’t, then that’s potential for litigation.”
Holscher said another concern relates to children who may get ahold of any medical cannabis.
“We want to make sure that the project is getting into the right hands,” said Holscher. “And that we’re not letting it get into the hands of children.”
Jones said he acknowledges the need for change and will continue to address any additional concerns.
“This year we took a different approach where, rather than try and convince legislators that this is good, we listened to their concerns, and we addressed their concerns in the bill,” said Jones.
If the bill passed, the medical cannabis pilot program would go into effect until July 1, 2029.
