President Donald Trump took the first step Thursday to reclassify marijuana, but the move won’t affect Kansans unless the state changes its laws, a law enforcement professional said.
Thousands of Kansans are crossing the Missouri border with medical marijuana cards in hand, and that’s unlikely to change as Kansas lawmakers resist medical legalization in 2025.
A wide majority of Kansans support legalizing medical and recreational marijuana, but a group of legislators assigned to weigh medical marijuana legalization declined to push the issue in the 2025 session.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
New survey data gives a look at how people in Kansas feel about key issues including marijuana legalization, abortion and gender-affirming care for transgender kids.
Republican Sen. Michael Fagg made a compelling case for scheduling joint House and Senate hearings on options for developing medical marijuana legislation in advance of convening the 2025 Kansas Legislature.
Leaders of a new politically diverse coalition said Tuesday they were committed to supporting candidates for the Kansas Legislature dedicated to ending the state’s prohibition on recreational cannabis and to expunging criminal records tied to marijuana.
A new poll again shows Kansans broadly support legalizing marijuana for medicinal or recreational use, but it seems as unlikely as ever that lawmakers will launch a new cannabis industry.
Kansas is one of the few states that doesn’t offer legal access to marijuana, and one of just nine states that hasn’t expanded Medicaid. Kansas seniors will be lobbying lawmakers for both.
Kansas has seen all smoke and no fire on the cannabis front, despite efforts from Democrats who say the state is losing business to neighbors where marijuana is legalized.
Alejandro Rangel-Lopez says lawmakers who refuse to legalize medical marijuana are responsible for the needless suffering of Kansans. After two days of Senate hearings on proposed legislation, there appears to be little hope for change this year.
