Lawmakers plan to introduce medical marijuana legislation at start of session - The Lawrence Times

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At second-to-last committee gathering connected aesculapian marijuana, lawmakers explicit cautious optimism

TOPEKA — After months of meetings, compiling information and listening to research, lawmakers accidental they’re acceptable to instrumentality different changeable astatine legalizing aesculapian marijuana.

Sen. Rob Olson, R-Olathe, and seat of the 2022 Special Committee connected Medical Marijuana, said helium planned to present a aesculapian marijuana measure astatine the opening of the January legislative session. Olson said passing authorities retired of committee would beryllium excessively difficult, and helium planned to present it successful the Senate arsenic an alternate approach.

“I deliberation what I’m going to bash is — and immoderate subordinate is much than invited — is to instrumentality this accusation and make the bill,” Olson said. “And I’m going to enactment connected a measure with a mates members and past if anybody wants to motion connected successful the Senate, they’ll beryllium much than capable to motion onto that bill, and present it astatine the opening of session.”

He encouraged lawmakers successful the House to present akin legislation.

“I deliberation that’s astir apt the champion mode forward,” Olson said.

The roadworthy to legalizing aesculapian marijuana has been a agelong and rocky one, with Kansans and lawmakers divided. During Friday’s committee meeting, respective members of the assemblage wore stickers reading, “Kansas says ‘No,’ ” to registry their disapproval of constricted legalization.

“Opening up that model leads to each kinds of corruption,” Wichita nonmigratory Denise Meirowsky said. She said her experiences with her 19-year-old son, who uses marijuana arsenic self-medication for intelligence and affectional issues, showed her the antagonistic power of marijuana.

“It causes him not to person immoderate ambition, not privation to work, not privation to bash thing due to the fact that of the maltreatment of marijuana. I haven’t been convinced yet of the aesculapian benefits. I’ve seen personally what it’s done to my ain son,” Meirowsky said.

On the different broadside of the room, Wichita State University elder Laura Cunningham, who was determination arsenic portion of a schoolhouse assignment, said she supported legalization of aesculapian marijuana arsenic a measurement guardant for Kansas.

“I consciousness similar a batch of radical who bash fume marijuana are precise productive members of society, and really relation amended due to the fact that of it. I deliberation a batch of radical person recovered this equilibrium that is due for them arsenic an individual, and that’s what truly matters. I don’t deliberation that legalizing marijuana is going to needfully origin this immense influx of radical not having the information to enactment successful society,” Cunningham said.

During the meeting, lawmakers were fixed overviews of probe connected marijuana merchandise packaging and labeling, limitations to amounts of aesculapian marijuana that 1 idiosyncratic tin possess, section taxation for marijuana and procedures for allowing aesculapian marijuana entree for incarcerated people. The feeling successful the country seemed to beryllium that the lawmakers had been fixed each the indispensable information, with the gathering ending astir 3 hours earlier than expected.

“You’ve had 8 authorities agencies sojourn with you, you’ve had 9 oregon 10 probe memos by the legislative probe department, you’ve had implicit 60 conferees that person testified successful 2 days earlier this committee and you person reviewed a mates of bills that were live past league and truthful on. In different words, you’ve been inundated with information,” said Mike Heim, a unit subordinate successful the Office of Revisor of Statutes, portion giving his overview to lawmakers.

In 2021, the Kansas House approved aesculapian marijuana legalization, but Senate Bill 560, which would person allowed for the cultivation, distribution, processing, dispensing and acquisition of marijuana and paraphernalia, died successful committee during the past days of the legislative session.

Senate President Ty Masterson said fund and schoolhouse backing authorities were a higher precedence to him than aesculapian marijuana.

Sen. Cindy Holscher, D-Overland Park, said she hoped aesculapian marijuana legalization authorities would walk the Senate this time, but she remembered of past year’s failure.

“The full contented is past year, we had a precise beardown measure that passed the House, and Senate President Ty Masterson wouldn’t let it to determination forward. So I cognize determination are antithetic parties who person been reaching retired to him to punctual him of however important an contented this is to a batch of antithetic people. So clip volition tell,” Holscher said.

The past gathering of the aesculapian marijuana committee volition beryllium held Dec. 15, with committee proposals expected to beryllium finalized then.

Kansas Reflector is portion of States Newsroom, a web of quality bureaus supported by grants and a conjugation of donors arsenic a 501c(3) nationalist charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.

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