Kansas’ governor wants voters to pressure the state legislators to approve medical marijuana this year.
The utterances came a day after Governor Laura Kelly launched an initiative last week to implement the reform and use marijuana tax returns to finance Medicaid expansion within the state.
However, the approval of the reform will be a difficult process in Kansas since it’s among the few remaining jurisdictions lacking medical cannabis measures and where Republicans are the legislature’s majority members. Although legislators launched authorization reforms during the last session, they delayed the commission without votes.
When Kelly was asked why she’s positive this year, she told KMBZ radio that the political atmosphere has changed and lawmakers won’t lose their seats by approving the policy change due to the bipartisan support for the matter.
Laura said that she will liaise with Republicans to arrive at a consensus. She added that she’s enlisting voters from Kansas who want to legalize cannabis.
The governor added that the state’s residents have spoken clearly and loudly about medical marijuana legalization and expansion of Medicaid. She also disclosed that she wants voters to get the message to the legislators. She wants to motivate them to vote for the reform without fear of losing their jobs within Topeka.
She added that the state wants medical marijuana and Medicaid expansion. While Kelly is championing this new reform, Kansas lawmakers have unveiled medical cannabis authorization reforms in both chambers during recent days.
Late January, The Senate Commerce Committee submitted a cannabis decriminalization reform. That reform’s language resembles the House legislation that was introduced in 2020. Individuals would qualify for medical marijuana with a medical expert’s prescription if they suffer from a condition that hugely interferes with their ability to tackle everyday activities.
Licensed patients would cultivate and own not more than four marijuana ounces. The reform would also set up a Kansas Medical Marijuana Department to regulate the program.
