Kansas Farm Bureau takes action as calls grow for medical marijuana legalization

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - The Kansas legislature begins its work on the 2023 legislative session next month and among issues for lawmakers to address, there are growing calls for them to consider medical marijuana in the Sunflower State. This comes as an influential group adopts a new policy on medical marijuana.

The introduction of legislation on the medical marijuana issue is expected in early January. The Kansas Farm Bureau (KFB) said it’s taking action now before anything is on the floor.

“The reason that medical marijuana was taken up at our annual meeting by our members is because of the ongoing conversation in Topeka around this topic,” said Kansas Farm Bureau Spokesman Greg Doering. “We’ve seen it kind of gain steam here in the last couple of session and this is one of those aspects from a staff perspective, we can’t really engage with the legislative process unless our members have set policy on it.”

Doering said KFB group is not taking a stance on either side of the issue.

“Now we have a policy where as those discussions unfold in this next session. We can only go in and say, ‘here’s where our membership is at on this issue, and this is what they would like to see if you decide to move forward with it,” Doering said.

What exactly is in that policy, and what do Kansans need to know?

“Our policy right now is neither for or against medical marijuana,” Doering said. “It is basically just a list of conditions we would like to see if it’s something that is made legal in the state of Kansas.”

When looking at the policy, it states the group supports authority to monitor and enforce licensing and legal production. It also says any farms of dispensaries should be required by law to post ownership, permits and licenses in public view. The KFB policy also says all products should be packaged with a label with dosage, name of the dispensary and information about the prescribing doctor.

Doering said the KFB wanted to make sure it could be in the conversation when it comes to making decisions on medical marijuana.

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