(Will be updated as warranted)
A bill legalizing a pilot program for distributing medical marijuana under tight restrictions was introduced in a Senate committee on Monday morning.
The bill was introduced by Michael O’Donnell, a former Republican state lawmaker who represents Kansas Natural Remedies, a hemp cultivator in Wichita.
Introduced in the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee, the bill surfaces with about three weeks left in the regular legislative session, meaning the lawmakers will have to hustle to get the bill through the process.
“I believe this bill is a great compromise bill that would allow Kansas to realize medicinal marijuana in the most conservative and medically-centric way,” O’Donnell said.
In an email to lawmakers, O’Donnell said his group had worked to find a compromise with Senate leadership to “find something that legalizes medicinal marijuana and at the same time looks nothing like Oklahoma.”
“I believe we have accomplished that with this bill,” he said.
Senate President Ty Masterson said he had not seen the bill but acknowledged that time was running short in this legislative session.
“I expected this thing back in February,” Masterson said in a brief interview.
Masterson said he would at the very least like to have a hearing on the bill this session to get a better idea of its contents.
“I’d like to see what’s really in it,” Masterson said. “I’d like to have it vetted and see what really is in it. Then we’ll decide from there.”
Republican state Sen. Mike Thompson, chair of the Federal and State Affairs Committee, has had reservations about legalizing medical marijuana.
He tabled a bill legalizing medical marijuana last year. He has not read the new bill.
“I have to read it and see what’s in it,” he said. “They say it’s an alleged pilot program. From what I hear, it’s a little more expansive, so I’ll take a look and see.
“I’m going to be looking at it very carefully today and see what’s going on.”
Republican state Sen. Jeff Longbine of Emporia, a member of the Federal and State Affairs Committee, said he had concerns about whether the bill would be too restrictive based on how the legislation was described to him.
“I don’t think it’s setting up an industry, which concerns me because then it’s quite likely going to fail,” Longbine said.
“So then, do the opponents of medical marijuana say, ‘Well see, it doesn’t work in Kansas’ or it becomes such a mess that nobody wants to mess with it.”
The bill sets out restrictions on the number of operators who can cultivate medical marijuana, how it will be distributed and packaged, and licensing requirements for patients.
It also lays out the criteria for in what forms it will be distributed – no smoking or gummies – and what conditions qualify to purchase medical marijuana.
Medical marijuana would be limited to ointments and inhalation of vapors released by the noncombustive heating of medical marijuana.
Those limits raise questions about who might benefit from the bill, said Democratic state Sen. Cindy Holscher of Overland Park and a member of the Federal and State Affairs Committee.
“That’s not a lot of people it would help,” she said.
Polling shows that the medical marijuana is popular among Kansans.
A poll done by researchers at Fort Hays State last year found more 63.6 of those surveyed were “highly” or “somewhat likely” to vote for a candidate who supports medical marijuana legalization as they decide who gets their vote to represent them in the Kansas Legislature.
Gov. Laura Kelly has been an advocate of legalizing medical marijuana.
Three years ago, Kelly tied expanding Medicaid to authorizing medical marijuana, which she said would bring in an estimated $50 million in taxes a year.
The governor’s proposal would have expanded Medicaid while establishing a regulatory framework for cultivation, testing, prescriptions, distribution and purchase of medical marijuana.
The new bill introduced on Monday morning would require patients and their caregivers who are at least 21 years old to have a valid medical marijuana certificate to purchase, possess or consume the drug.
Physicians may issue a certificate if they are the patient’s primary care doctor and determine the patients suffer from a qualifying condition, including cancer, autism, Parkinson’s disease, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy, among others.
The bill outlaws medical marijuana with a THC content in excess of 35%.
The bill allows the state health department to contract with no more than with four “medical cannabis operators” at any one time for cultivating and processing medical marijuana products in Kansas.
The operators would have to pay the state a yearly $50,000 fee.
The state health secretary also may contract with one or more pharmacies to operate a “distribution hub” for dispensing medical marijuana.
There will be an annual fee of not less than $500 for running a distribution hub.
A distribution hub may sell and deliver medical marijuana products to patients and their caregivers.
Medical marijuana could only be dispensed to a patient or caregiver who provides a valid certificate and a valid driver’s license, state-issued identification card or another government-issued photo identification card.
A patient shall not purchase medical marijuana in an amount that exceeds the aggregate 200 grams of unprocessed medical cannabis flower or 3.47 grams of THC contained in any medical cannabis product during any 30-day period of time.
The bill sets up tight restrictions for delivery as well as payment.
Patients and caregivers would be required to set up an account with a distribution hub, or pharmacy, for the purpose of paying for their purchase.
The purchase would have to be paid for through a bank transfer or a debit transaction. The payment would be nonrefundable. Cash or credit cards couldn’t be used for the purchase.
The “medical cannabis operator” or pharmacy shall conduct a criminal history background check on anyone who delivers medical marijuana.
All vehicles used for transporting medical marijuana or medical cannabis shall be equipped with global positioning system tracking, a dashboard camera and a camera covering all areas within the vehicle containing the product
The cameras shall record activity any time the vehicle is being loaded with medical marijuana or is located outside the premises of a distribution hub.
The bill places restrictions on where medical marijuana can be distributed and cultivated.
It bars a so-called distribution hub from being located within 1,000 feet of a school, public library or public park.
It also prohibits a medical marijuana cultivation or processing location from being within 500 feet of a school, public library or public park.
A cultivator or processor facility shall be located on real property zoned as industrial.
It wouldn’t be a violation of the law if the distributor or cultivator or processing facility existed at a location before the arrival of a school, public library or public park.
The requires the state to contract with a lab for conducting compliance and quality assurance testing of medical marijuana produced by the operators.
The state-contracted lab may charge operators for testing services required by the bill.
A physician who issues a medical cannabis certificate under the bill shall be exempt from liability for any injuries or other damages arising from or otherwise related to the purchase medical marijuana.
The exemption would apply if the physician reviewed the patient’s medical records and reasonably believes the patient is not pregnant and is not likely to suffer from schizophrenia.
The physician must also reasonably believe that the patient suffers from a qualifying medical condition based on the information provided by the patient and the information is supported by such patient’s medical records.
The latest version of a bill legalizing medical marijuana comes a year after the Senate Federal and State Affairs tabled a bill legalizing medical marijuana.
The committee set aside the bill after two days of hearings that were followed by multiple meetings leading up to last year’s session sorting through the complexities of the issue.
Supporters of legalizing medical marijuana had pinned their hopes on the Senate after the House passed a medical marijuana bill in 2021.
The Senate started work on a bill in 2022 but the legislation couldn’t get out of a conference committee before the legislative session ended.
A bill was drafted in the Senate, and it was similar in many ways to the one that passed by the House in 2021.
While House and Senate negotiators agreed to many aspects of a broad bill, there was not enough time to work out any differences as the session came to an end.
Republican state Sen. Rob Olson of Olathe, chair of the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee at that time, expressed regret for not getting a bill done in 2022.
He led a series of committee hearings last year and worked toward crafting a medical marijuana bill throughout the rest of 2022.
However, he was moved from chair of the Federal and State Affairs Committee before the start of the 2023 session, which led some to believe the issue was imperiled at the start of the session.
