kansas Archives - TheJointBlog

Kansas House Committee Passes Hemp Bill

March 13, 2017

**Kansas’ House Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic Development has given approval to a bill that would allow the cultivation of industrial hemp in the state.**

“Kansas farmers are having a very tough time,” said Representative Willie Dove following the vote on House Bill 2182, known as the Kansas Industry Growth Act . “It’s very dry, and they need a crop that will utilize that dryness.” Dove notes hemp requires very little water to grow properly.

According to its official text, the purpose of the act is to authorize and encourage “research activities, business development and support activities, public-private cooperation and educational activities toward the growth of an industrial hemp cultivating, processing or distributing industry in Kansas.”

Kansas Bill Legalizing Cannabinoid Medicines Passes Senate Committee

March 10, 2017

A Kansas Senate committee has passed a bill to legalize cannabinoid (CBD) medicines.

Senate Bill 151 was approved Thursday by the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee, moving it towards a full Senate vote. Under the proposed law; “a person shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution or penalty in any manner for possessing, utilizing, dispensing or distributing any non-intoxicating cannabinoid medicine or any apparatus or paraphernalia used to administer such medicine pursuant to a physician recommendation.”

The proposal makes it clear that; ‘a physician shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution or penalty in any manner, including any form of professional discipline by the state board of healing arts, for issuing a recommendation order, with the same intent, force and effect as a prescription order, to a patient for the use of non-intoxicating cannabinoid medicine.”

Federal Court: Out-of-State License Plates Don’t Justify Police Stop and Search

August 24, 2016

In a landmark decision the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that law enforcement officials can’t stop and search vehicles simply for having an out-of-state license plate from a state where cannabis is legal, such as Colorado.

The court reinstated a lawsuit filed by a Colorado motorist (Peter Vasquez) who was pulled over by two officers while driving through Kansas, heading to Maryland. The officers, Richard Jimerson and Dax Lewis, stopped Vasquez because they couldn’t read his temporary tag that was taped to the inside of the car’s rear window. The officers contended they were justified in searching the vehicle because the motorists was a citizen of Colorado – a state where cannabis is legal – and he was driving on I-70, a “known drug corridor”. The officers, who found nothing illegal in their search, also said that the motorist seemed nervous.

Kansas Marijuana Possession Laws

August 2, 2016

Kansas Marijuana Possession Laws:

Up to 450 grams:

Penalty: Misdemeanor with up to 6 months in jail and/or a maximum fine of $1,000.

450 grams or more (automatically considered for distribution purposes):

Penalty: Felony punishable by 10 to 42 months incarceration and/or a maximize fine of $100,000.

For further information on Kansas marijuana laws – including penalties for distribution and cultivation – click here. For recent updates to Kansas’s marijuana possession laws and other Kansas-related stories, click here.

Kansas Legislature Passes Bill to Reduce Penalties for Cannabis Possession

April 29, 2016

The Kansas House of Representatives on Friday gave approval to legislation that would reduce penalties for the possession of cannabis. The measure has already been passed by the state’s Senate with a unanimous 38 to 0 vote, meaning it will now go to Governor Sam Brownback for consideration; the vote in the House was 96 to 23.

Under the proposed law, the first-time possession of cannabis would be reduced to a minor misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in jail, down from a serious misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. Second offenses will be reduced from a felony punishable by up to 3.5 years in prison, to a misdemeanor punishable by a jail term of up to a year. All subsequent offenses would remain felonies.

Kansas Senate Passes Bill to Reduce Penalties for Possessing Up to 450 Grams of Cannabis

February 3, 2016

Kansas’ full Senate has given approval to legislation that would reduce the penalties for the possession of up to 450 grams of cannabis. The vote was an overwhelming 38 to 1.

If passed into law, House Bill 2049 would reduce the penalty associated with someone’s first cannabis possession offense (as long as it’s under 450 grams) to a class B misdemeanor, down from a class A misdemeanor. This reduces the maximum potential jail sentence to six months, down from the possibility of a full year.

House Bill 2049 would also defelonize second cannabis possession offenses, reducing them to a class A misdemeanor, bringing the maximum sentence to a year, down from three and a half years as it currently stands.

Kansas Senate Committee Votes to Lower Cannabis Penalties, Legalize Medical Cannabis Oil

February 3, 2016January 26, 2016

Kansas’ Senate Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee has given approval today to two cannabis-related bills. One of the proposals would legalize the possession and use of low-THC cannabis oil for medical use, and the other would lower the penalties associated with someone’s first and second cannabis possession offense.

The proposal reduces the charge for first-time cannabis possession to a class B misdemeanor, down from a class A misdemeanor. This reduces the maximum sentence to 6 months, rather than a full year. A person’s second cannabis possession offense would be reduced to a class A misdemeanor, whereas it’s currently a felony.

Kansas House Approves Bill to Reduce Cannabis Penalties, Legalize Medical Cannabis Extracts, Study Hemp

May 8, 2015

The Kansas House of Representatives has passed an amended version of House Bill 2049, a proposal that initially would have simply reduce the penalties associated with cannabis possession, but was altered to make several other changes.

The bill, which now moves towards a full Senate vote, would reduce the penalty for the first-time possession of cannabis for personal use from a Class A misdemeanor, to a Class B misdemeanor, reducing the potential jail sentence from a year to six months. This would also reduce the fine from $2,500, to $1,000. The proposal would also reduce the charge for someone’s second offense from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Wichita, Kansas Decriminalizes Cannabis

April 8, 2015

Voters in Wichita, the largest city in Kansas, have approved an initiative to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of cannabis.

The initiative was approved with 54% in favor, 46% opposed, roughly the same percentage that approved legalization initiatives in 2012 in Colorado and Washington State.

The initiative decriminalizes the possession of up to 32 grams of cannabis for those 21 and older, making it a simple $50 civil infraction with no possibility of jail time. Under current Wichita law, the possession of even a miniscule amount of cannabis is a misdemeanor with a potential year-long jail sentence.

Initiative to Decriminalize Cannabis On Tomorrow’s Ballot in Wichita, Kansas

April 6, 2015

An initiative to remove criminal penalties for the possession of small amounts of cannabis will be up for a public vote tomorrow, April 7th in Wichita, the largest city in Kansas.

If approved into law, the initiative would decriminalize the possession of up to 32 grams of cannabis for those 21 and older, making it a simple $50 civil infraction with no possibility of jail time.

Under current Kansas law the possession of any amount of cannabis is a misdemeanor that carries with it a potential year-long jail sentence.