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Kansas medical marijuana advocates see progress in legalization effort


By Elliot Hughes January 23, 2015


From left to right: Kathy, Otis and Ryan Reed. The family moved from Baldwin City to Colorado last May so Otis, 3, could receive medical marijuana treatments for his epilepsy.
Ryan Reed

From left to right: Kathy, Otis and Ryan Reed. The family moved from Baldwin City to Colorado last May so Otis, 3, could receive medical marijuana treatments for his epilepsy.

State Sen. David Haley has an expression he often repeats when describing lawmakers' interest in legalizing medical marijuana in Kansas: "The ice is beginning to thaw."

But don't get carried away, he added. "It isn't spring yet."

Haley, a Kansas City Democrat, and Rep. Gail Finney, a Wichita Democrat, have once again introduced bills in both chambers that would permit medical marijuana in Kansas, in efforts continuing since 2009.

Neither expects the bills to pass this year — even getting an official hearing would be an achievement — but both say legislators in Kansas are warming to the idea, and it's only a matter of time until it becomes the law.

Two informational hearings on the general subject of medical marijuana were held by the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee this week. Haley said that's the first time a senate committee has taken up the discussion in his 13 years as a senator.

Since 2010, Finney said, the House Health and Human Services Committee has twice held information hearings. In the first hearing, she noted, all but one Republican left the room when the topic came up.

"When we first started this, if you said the word 'marijuana' there would be awkward glances, snickers and an inability to have any discussion," Haley said.

Arguments for and against

Ryan Reed's three-year-old son, Otis, is epileptic, suffering hundreds of seizures per day. When they and the mother of the house, Kathy, lived in Baldwin City, they were stuck with medication that Ryan said only made matters worse: an enlarged heart, soft bones and agitation.

The family moved to Colorado last May, where they immediately arranged a daily medical marijuana treatment. The seizures haven't stopped, but since that time, Otis' quality of life is trending up, his father said.

Today, Otis drinks from a straw, uses his arms more and can sleep a full eight hours without interruption from seizures.

"He smiles on a daily basis," Ryan said. "Before, it could be months between smiles. And all this with no side effects."

There were several Kansans who longed for that kind of respite at the senate committee's first informational hearing last week, which featured only advocates. Speakers told of past medications failing them or their children, and how marijuana and its derivatives represented their last viable hope.

"I think it would be a safer alternative to a lot of the opiate painkillers that these doctors give us," said Esau Freeman, the president of Kansas for Change, which advocates for marijuana reform.

But in the second informational hearing, for non-advocates, individuals representing the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police, the Kansas Medical Society and Global Drug Policy expressed concerns about approving a drug by vote, rather than through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"The support for marijuana as medicine is largely driven by emotional anecdotes and unscientific individual observations that are not borne out of research," said Eric Voth, Global Drug Policy chairman.

He added that research shows marijuana causes problems with memory, concentration, cognitive function and intellectual skills.

Tatiana Lin, of the Kansas Health Institute, testified as a neutral speaker and said the research organization is conducting a study on the possible community health impact of medical marijuana in Kansas.

She said preliminary findings on legalization suggest there would be little to no impact on marijuana usage in the general population and a possible increase in crime only near dispensaries.

Medical marijuana laws

The identical bills being pushed by Haley and Finney are similar to those in 23 other states and the District of Columbia that already allow medical marijuana. Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia also have passed measures allowing retail sales today or in the future.

Kansas SB 09 and HB 2011 would create a patient registry with identification cards, set up dispensaries and outline specific health conditions for which medical marijuana would be warranted. Most of the 23 states and the District of Columbia mandate the same three parameters, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Eleven other states allow products with low levels of THC, the principle hallucinogenic component in marijuana. None of those states allow products with a THC potency greater than 3 percent, and those are largely reserved for patients specifically with seizure issues, according to the NCSL.

Statehouse support

Rep. Basil Dannebohm, an Ellinwood Republican, backed the House bill at a rally in mid-January. But other than that, members of his party lately have shied away from declarations.

Following the informational hearings this week, Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook, a Shawnee Republican and chairwoman of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, would not indicate her position on the issue.

Another member of that committee, Sen. Mitch Holmes, R-St. John, who penned a critical article on the bill in the Pratt Tribune in January, said he didn't know if his position had changed after the first hearing.

Some Lawrence lawmakers, including Rep. Dennis "Boog" Highberger and Sen. Marci Francisco, both Democrats, have voiced support for medical marijuana.

Rep. John Wilson, also a Democrat, said he is interested in crafting his own bill for medical marijuana, to be introduced later this legislative session, or next year. He said he's interested in a bill that would allow only lower levels of THC, ban smokeable products and delegate distribution to pharmacies and hospitals.

"I think we need to have reassurances ... that this isn't just about pot heads wanting to get to smoke weed for any condition under the sun," he said.