Health at the Capitol — Digging into the Kansas Medical Marijuana Debate (July 2, 2021) – Kansas Health Institute

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Kansas is one in every of three states with no medical marijuana program. Whereas the Kansas Legislature has thought-about payments associated to medical marijuana over the previous a number of years, solely Senate Invoice (SB) 282 was handed into regulation. That invoice, from the 2018 legislative session, eliminated cannabidiol (CBD), a compound in marijuana that isn’t psychoactive, from the managed substances record and paved the way in which for the sale in Kansas of CBD merchandise that comprise no tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principle psychoactive compound in marijuana.  

This version of Well being on the Capitol digs into the medical marijuana debate in Kansas by evaluating two complete medical marijuana payments launched through the 2021 legislative session. It additionally appears at complete and restricted medical marijuana legal guidelines in different states.

Well being on the Capitol is a weekly abstract offering highlights of the Kansas legislative session, with a selected concentrate on well being coverage associated points. Sign up here to obtain these summaries and extra, and in addition observe KHI on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Earlier editions of Well being on the Capitol could be discovered on our ARCHIVE PAGE.

Present Kansas Laws

On Could 6, 2021, the Kansas Home handed Home Substitute (H. Sub.) for SB 158, which might create the Kansas Medical Marijuana Regulation Act and the Kansas Medical Marijuana Regulation Program; outline phrases associated to the invoice; amend legal guidelines regarding crimes, youngster welfare, employment and self-discipline of sure medical professionals; create provisions to handle federal re-scheduling of marijuana; and rename the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Management, Kansas Division of Income, because the Division of Alcohol and Hashish Management. After the Home handed the invoice, Senate President Ty Masterson said he didn’t anticipate the Senate taking on the invoice this session however famous the invoice can be out there for consideration through the 2022 session and instructed {that a} joint committee might contemplate it through the interim interval. On Could 7, the Senate dominated the invoice as “materially modified” and referred it to the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee. SB 315, which might create the Kansas Medical Marijuana Regulation Act, additionally was launched by the Senate on Could 7 and was referred to the Senate Public Well being and Welfare Committee.

Figure 1 compares choose provisions in H. Sub. for SB 158 (124 pages) and SB 315 (84 pages). (Textual content in daring signifies materials variations between the payments.)

Legal guidelines in Different States

As of Could 18, 2021, 36 states and the District of Columbia have authorized complete, publicly out there medical marijuana/hashish packages and an extra 11 states have authorized restricted entry medical marijuana legal guidelines to permit use of “low THC, excessive CBD” merchandise for medical causes in restricted conditions or as a authorized protection. As well as, as of April 19, 2021, 17 states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws to manage hashish for grownup leisure use.

The next figures present a quick overview of states which have statutory and regulatory provisions legalizing medical marijuana. The knowledge relies on two main sources: the Network for Public Health Law (as of February 14, 2019) and the National Conference of State Legislatures (as of Could 18, 2021).

Figure 2 describes a number of frequent traits of complete packages. NCSL defines a program as complete if it has the next components: 1) safety from felony penalties for utilizing marijuana for a medical function; 2) entry to marijuana via dwelling cultivation, dispensaries or another system that’s more likely to be applied; 3) it permits a wide range of strains or merchandise, together with these with greater than “low” THC; 4) it permits both smoking or vaporization of some sort of marijuana product, plant materials or extract; and 5) it’s not a restricted trial program (South Dakota and Nebraska have restricted trial packages that aren’t open to the general public).

Figure 3 gives an outline of a number of frequent traits of “restricted” medical marijuana packages. These states permit use of “low THC, excessive CBD” merchandise for medical causes in restricted conditions or as a authorized protection. “CBD is the principle ingredient of the FDA-approved drug Epidiolex®.