Efforts to legalize medical marijuana in KS failed -- but thousands are getting weed from MO

As Kansas lawmakers fail to pass a medicinal marijuana program, nearly 2,000 Kansans have crossed the state line to obtain medicinal marijuana licenses in Missouri, The Star has learned.

Exactly 1,834 Kansans currently hold a medicinal marijuana license in Missouri, according to a report by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services obtained by The Star. An agency spokesperson later confirmed the number, but declined to comment further.

That’s likely a fraction of the number of Kansans who’ve traveled across state lines to purchase recreational marijuana.

Kansas is just one of just ten states where marijuana remains illegal and criminalized. It is bordered by three states – Oklahoma, Missouri, and Colorado – where marijuana is legalized for medicinal use, with some also allowing recreational use.

Efforts to legalize medical marijuana have fallen flat in Kansas since 2021 when House lawmakers passed a medical marijuana bill 79-42. Senate leadership later blocked the bill from coming up for a floor debate or vote.

This year, pro-cannabis lawmakers made a last-ditch effort to bring a restrictive medicinal marijuana pilot program to a debate and floor vote by using a procedural maneuver to sidestep Senate President Ty Masterson. But the vote failed 12-25.

Still, Daniel Shafton, a past president of the Kansas Cannabis Chamber of Commerce and pro-cannabis lobbyist, said the issue has overwhelming support across party lines. Legislative leadership is tanking the efforts, he said.

“It didn’t have the votes on the procedural motion,” Shafton said. “But don’t be fooled. If there was no Hokey Pokey, funny business going on, this has the votes to pass. It has the support.”

“There was no and probably is no combination of words in the English language that could be strung together that would have led to a piece of legislation that would have made it out of committee with the current leadership,” he added.

Since the session adjourned in late April, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced its plans to reschedule marijuana as a less dangerous drug. The move, if approved by the Department of Justice, would also officially recognize marijuana’s medical benefits and its lesser potential for abuse compared to other narcotics.

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