On Tuesday, a Kansas House committee approved a bill to legalize medical cannabis.

Members of the Kansas House Committee, the Federal and State Affairs committee adopted several amendments before they advanced the legislation in a 12-8 vote.

In March, this committee approved the reform proposal and sent it to the House floor. But after the House reviewed the bill they returned it to the committee for further consideration. Chairman John Barker (R) said that if the proposal did run on the House floor, it would have several amendments. Noting that the House would attach some but others would be dropped.

Advocates are eager that the bill can clear the full House and Senate during this legislative veto session.

Amendments and Revisions

The first amendment will make several changes, Rep. Blake Carpenter (R) filed the amendment and via a voice vote the house approved it. First, it will allow counties to opt-out of allowing cannabis dispensaries in their jurisdiction. Second, it will protect the gun rights of patients and clarify restrictions on advertising.

The amendment will remove housing and employment protections for patients. Finally, it will require a minimum six-month relationship between a patient and physician, with some exceptions, before medical marijuana can be recommended.

If cannabis is rescheduled at the federal level, the revision calls for references in the bill like the word “recommendation” be changed to “prescription”. It will also change the state’s drug schedule to align with any new federal classification. Further, it would make changes to the cannabis advisory board and require marijuana to be cultivated securely indoors.

The state treasurer also made a change. This change will strike the requirement that a payment processing system be “closed-loop”.

The Kansas Department of Revenue Alcoholic Beverage Control sent in an amendment. It will add definitions for cannabinoids, medical marijuana products, and other terms. This will replace the previous provision that was going to establish the definitions by regulators at a later point. It will also fix a discrepancy in the timeline for residency requirements. Now the requirements will be four years and they will move the deadline to adopt regulations back by a year to July 1, 2023.

The Health and Environment committee introduced an amendment. It will launch an educational website by July 1, 2023.

The chairman put forward an amendment and it passed. The revision is technical in nature. But it will clarify intent on requirements for licenses among other things.

The Overall Scope of the Bill

Overall, the legislation will establish a medical cannabis program for those qualified. It lists 21 conditions that would qualify a patient for the program. In March, an amendment was added to expand the list of qualifying conditions. Smoking and vaping products will be prohibited. It will also not allow home-growing of marijuana.

There are other legalization proposals; one that was filed on the governors’ behalf and a separate bill that was introduced in the Senate.

For the most part, all proposals will do the same thing. Kansas would join the majority of states with legal medical cannabis programs.

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