Thirty-seven states allow the medical use of marijuana, including Oklahoma and Arkansas. Of those, 21 also allow recreational use, including Colorado and Missouri.
KANSAS LEGISLATORS STRUGGLE TO THWART 'WOKE' ESG INVESTMENT BY STATE
Kansas Sen. Mike Thompson presides over a Senate and Federal and State Affairs Committee meeting on March 7, 2023, at the Statehouse in Topeka. The committee tabled a bill to legalize the medical use of marijuana in the state. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly supports legalizing medical marijuana, but opposition from law enforcement officials bolstered the skepticism of Thompson and other conservative Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature.
The Kansas House passed a medical marijuana bill in 2021, but the measure didn't receive a committee vote in the Senate. Like this year's bill, the earlier measure would prohibit smoking pot or vaping with it.
The bill before the Senate committee would require both patients and their caregivers to register with the state health department to have permission to buy marijuana at state-licensed dispensaries. The state would impose a 10% tax on dispensaries' sales.