Kansas lawmakers on Thursday held the last in a series of special committee meetings on medical marijuana issues that will be used to inform reform legislation that will be introduced in the 2023 session.
The Special Committee on Medical Marijuana, members of which toured a Missouri cannabis cultivation facility on Wednesday as part of their work, went over the wide range of issues that they’ve been discussing with officials and experts in recent months. The plan is to finalize a report with recommendations for the legislature heading into the new year.
Sen. Robert Olson (R)—who chairs the special committee, as well the Federal and State Affairs Committee with jurisdiction over cannabis issues—talked about his plans to file a medical marijuana legalization bill with the information the temporary panel has gathered in its meetings.
Notably, he said on Thursday that he doesn’t intend to include a home grow provision in his forthcoming reform bill, expressing concerns about enforcement challenges. However, he said that “it’ll be amendable” and “it’ll be changeable” if a majority of other lawmakers want to go in a different direction.
For the time being, however, the bill he plans to draft will be “fair to the state, very tight, very regulatory,” he said.
Olson emphasized that Kansas is taking a “different process than most of the other states—a legislative process, not an initiative—and I think we’ve got a chance to debate the different issues and allow the process to work.”
“I can’t support homegrown because there’s just no way you can put guardrails on to secure and know what’s happening with the plants,” the chairman said.
In the meantime, the plan is to deliver the legislature a report with the committees findings and recommendations, which members will vote on electronically in the coming days once it’s finalized. A staffer laid out the key points that will be incorporated into the report.
There will be a summary of each meeting that the panel held, including testimony from various witnesses who appeared.
Additionally, the report will go over Kansas Legislative Research Department memos that were provided to lawmakers, examining issues such as physician liability, federally subsidized housing access for patients, revenues, employment law, social equity license litigation and possession limits. Those topics were discussed at Thursday’s meeting.
At an earlier hearing last week, lawmakers were briefed by staff on a variety of additional topics, including how other medical cannabis states handle issues such as seed-to-sale tracking, THC potency and purchasing limits, local taxes, licensing tiers, social equity and packaging and labeling of products.
One member asked Olson at this most recent meeting whether he felt the work that the special committee has done would create a simpler “pathway forward” for reform legislation in the next session, given that past medical cannabis legalization efforts have stalled out in the legislature. The chairman was asked whether he had “any assurances” to that end.
“I don’t want to put my leadership in a tough spot,” Olson replied. “I’m planning on having a hearing on a marijuana bill next year. And you know, my M.O. has always been, I’ve got a long record of going places and fixing problems.”
“It’s their choice at the end of the day,” he said, referring to Senate leaders. “If they don’t want me to do it, I’ll follow their orders. I appreciate that leadership has given us this joint committee. Maybe we don’t have 100 percent of the answers—but I believe we’ll be able to have a bill out of all the stuff, all the testimonies that have come through here, that will be as good as any bill in the country.”
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At an earlier hearing in October, members focused on the “public policy implications” of the reform, receiving testimony from stakeholders and advocates about how to effectively regulate the market, touching on issues like track-and-trace, the pros and cons of licensing caps and the role that physicians should play.
The bicameral committee, which was formed in June, convened for an initial meeting in October that involved state officials, law enforcement and an Oklahoma medical cannabis regulator giving their perspective on the issue.
In the midst of these discussions, a spokesperson for the top Kansas GOP senator recently said the issue is “not a priority”—prompting pushback from House Democratic leadership.
The spokesperson said that Senate President Ty Masterson (R) recognizes that the reform issue is “maturing,” adding that any federal action “would be more evidence of that.” However, “it is not a priority” for the senator, who wields significant influence over what legislation advances.
While advocates were disappointed that lawmakers were unable to pass a medical cannabis bill by the end of the 2022 session in May—despite considerable momentum and the support of Gov. Laura Kelly (D)—the hope is that the committee’s work will lay the groundwork for meaningful action when the legislature convenes again.
The special panel is comprised of members appointed by the House speaker and Senate president.
House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer (D) said in June that he’s “been pretty frustrated that we have yet to get a bill passed,” while acknowledging that the House voted to legalize medical marijuana last year only to see a relative lack of action in the Senate.
The Senate did hold several hearings on cannabis reform this year, but members never got around to scheduling a vote. Late in the session, legislative leaders formed a bicameral conference committee that was tasked with arriving at a deal that could pass both chambers, although that didn’t pan out by the time lawmakers adjourned.
Democratic lawmakers made a final push to enact medical cannabis legalization before the legislative deadline, but Olson said in May that the “heavy load” his committee had to carry on other issues meant that lawmakers would not be “getting this measure across the finish line this session.”
Members of the House and Senate Federal and State Affairs Committees held two public conference meetings in April to discuss a way to merge the House-passed medical marijuana bill with a separate one that Senate lawmakers began considering this year. At the last official meeting, lawmakers from the House side went through areas where they were willing to concede to differences in the other chamber’s bill, as well as provisions they wanted to keep from their own measure.
In general, the two chambers’ proposals were already fairly similar, sharing numerous key provisions.
Here’s an overview of the key provisions where the bills from the House and Senate already overlapped:
Patients with any of more than 20 qualifying conditions—including cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, and autoimmune disorders—would be eligible for medical cannabis.
Patients would be entitled to obtain a 30-day supply of medical cannabis products at a time.
Possession of up to 1.5 ounces of marijuana by a person who isn’t registered as a patient would be decriminalized, punishable by a maximum fine of $400.
Patients’ medical cannabis recommendations would be valid for 90 days, after which point a physician could renew the recommendations for three additional periods. Then extensions could be authorized following a physical examination of the patient annually.
Medical cannabis sales would be subject to the state sales tax of 5.75 percent, with the option of adding a local tax.
Multiple regulatory bodies would be in charge of administering the program. The state Department of Health and Environment, Board of Healing Arts, Board of Pharmacy and a renamed Alcohol and Cannabis Control division would each play a role in the regulations.
The legislation would also establish a medical marijuana advisory committee to help oversee the program and issue recommendations.
The bill calls for five different license types: cultivators, processors, laboratories, distributors and retailers. People would be rendered ineligible for a medical marijuana licenses if they’ve been convicted of a felony, unless that conviction was expunged at least 10 years before the application is submitted.
There would also be a 35 percent THC cap on marijuana plant material.
Counties would be able to enact local bans on permitting marijuana retailers from operating within their jurisdictions through the adopt of a resolution.
With respect to equity provisions, there does not appear to be an explicit pathway for expungements.
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Here are some of the changes that the House said it was willing to accept from the Senate bill:
Pushing back the effective date of the law and deadlines for its implementation.
Removing a 70 percent THC cap on cannabis concentrates.
Out-of-state patients would have reciprocity to both possess and purchase marijuana if they’re registered with their state.
Preventing discrimination in real estate transactions to lease or sell property to registered medical marijuana patients.
Keep the Senate’s licensing application requirements, terms of licensing and rules on where cannabis businesses can operate.
Requiring certain security measures at medical marijuana businesses.
Requiring the state to enter into agreements with tribal governments in order to exchange cannabis.
Doctors wouldn’t have to start “prescribing,” rather than recommending, medical marijuana if the federal government reclassifies cannabis.
Here are some areas where the House insisted on its version, or offered a compromise:
Maintaining most of the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana, which includes more than 20 ailments, but keeping its more limited language and removing glaucoma.
Allowing people to receive a medical marijuana business licenses after at least three years of residency in Kansas. The original House bill called for four years, while the Senate had two years.
Allowing regulators to create a unique payment process system for cannabis sales in coordination with the state treasurer.
Keeping a $500 license fee for associated employees of medical marijuana businesses, but lowering fees for other employee types.
Keeping state and local licensing eligibility requirements as stated in the House bill.
There were some additional outstanding items that members hadn’t quite decided on as of April’s meeting and said they needed additional time to work. Those issues are related to advertising requirements, rules for cultivation facilities, licensing fees, creating a pilot program for medical cannabis and employment discrimination.
Sawyer and Assistant Minority Leader Jason Probst (D) said in January that they wanted to let voters decide on legalizing medical and adult-use marijuana in the state.
The governor, for her part, wants to see medical cannabis legalization enacted, and she said earlier this year that she “absolutely” thinks the bill could pass if “everything else doesn’t take up all the oxygen.”
She previously pushed a separate proposal that would legalize medical cannabis and use the resulting revenue to support Medicaid expansion, with Rep. Brandon Woodard (D) filing the measure on the governor’s behalf.
Kelly has she said she wants voters to put pressure on their representatives to get the reform passed.
Following President Joe Biden’s announcement on pardoning people who’ve committed federal marijuana possession offenses and imploring governors to follow suit, Kelly said that her administration is “focused on legalizing medical marijuana so that Kansans with severe illnesses no longer have to suffer.
She added that they will “continue to consider all clemency and pardon requests based on a complete and thorough review of the individual cases.”
The governor also said in 2020 that while she wouldn’t personally advocate for adult-use legalization, she wouldn’t rule out signing the reform into law if a reform bill arrived on her desk.
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Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.
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