TOPEKA, (KSNT)- Medical marijuana advocates are crafting proposals for this session. Nexstar's Kansas Capitol Bureau confirmed that a medical cannabis pilot program proposal is in the works.
The future of marijuana reform lies in the Kansas Senate's hands, as the House awaits action.
Senate President Ty Masterson sent the following statement on Thursday.
“Medical marijuana, as implemented by other states, has proven to be a disaster and nothing more than a fig leaf for recreational use. However, I have consistently maintained that this is a serious topic which requires due diligence to determine if a better model is possible that achieves the goal of delivering real medicine while avoiding the myriad problems those other states have experienced. Currently, that’s what’s being discussed, and time will tell if a bill emerges that clears that high bar.”
Sen. Ty Masterson, (R) Kansas Senate President
Senate President Ty Masterson said he's open to discussions about a pilot program, earlier this year. However, there will be a "high bar" for marijuana advocates to clear.
Kansas is one of less than a handful of states, where marijuana is fully illegal. Marijuana advocates are renewing their push to change that.
Former Kansas Republican lawmaker Michael O'Donnell is lobbying on behalf of "Kansas Natural Remedies," a hemp cultivator, which is working on the pilot program proposal. An official bill has not yet been introduced.
Kelly Rippel, an advisor for the Kansas Cannabis Coalition, said that Kansans can expect something that's "fairly limited." However, he's worried the pilot program proposal will feature too many limits.
"Limited to the number of methods of administration... so the types of products that you can use that have cannabis in them. All the way to a limited amount of medical providers that are available or accessible across the state who can provide a recommendation to a caregiver. The number of access points that a caregiver or patient could have access to to purchase those products...," Rippel explained.
Rippel said his group is looking at other options to present to lawmakers.
He's hoping for a compromise this year. He argues that, if action is taken to reschedule marijuana at the federal level, states with no laws in place could see an increase in "interstate commerce" issues.
Rippel said that he's expecting restrictions to be included in the legislation, as some Democratic leaders and Republicans debate the issue.
"It will be specific to medical cannabis... we're not going to go from zero to 90 miles an hour overnight and just legalize adult use. Governor Kelly has said we're not going to do this as Colorado did. So, I think there will be some restrictions for overall access," he said.
