A motion made by Rep. Gail Finney, D-Wichita, was accepted for a medical marijuana bill similar to HB2330, with revisions, Wednesday morning, according to Kansas for Change Inc.'s Esau Freeman.

Senate Bill 9, or the Cannabis Compassion and Care Act, would allow the prescription and use of cannabis for medical purposes in the state of Kansas as well as decriminalize possession of marijuana up to six ounces. SB 9 would also allow up to six cannabis plants to be grown in the home.

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The Kansas state legislature doesn't care to hear about medical marijuana.

After two weeks of review, the "Cannabis Compassion and Care Act" was introduced to the House yesterday by Rep. Gail Finney (D-Wichita). The bill, originally introduced by Sen. David Haley (D-Kansas City, Kan.) would legalize medical marijuana in the state of Kansas and decriminalize possession of up to six ounces and home growing of up to 12 plants.

By current Kansas law, possession of marijuana can result in up to a year in prison. Growing marijuana can lead to 17 years of jail time. A bill proposing a similar solution died in committee last year.

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Haley Seeks to Make Kansas 19th State to Join Pot Club

There isn't much Capitol buzz in support of Kansas taking part in the medicinal marijuana craze.

Sen. David Haley, a Democrat from Kansas City, Kan., introduced a bill that would allow Kansas to join 18 states and the District of Columbia in granting permission for qualified patients to consume pot with endorsement of a physician and without fear of arrest.

Haley, who said he was no fan of recreational marijuana consumption, can rattle off a series of public policy advantages of the THC-laced plant, but the chairwoman of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee intends to use her influence to snuff out the bill that allows patients to possess up to six ounces of pot and grow up to a dozen pot plants in their residence.

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I was surprised to read there are people locally who support the use of marijuana for medical and recreational purposes. Many articles have said it leads to other drug use.

I read an article that written by a man who used marijuana regularly. He was a mathematician but because of his marijuana use became unable to solve math problems.

It was a heartbreaking story. Marijuana also has the same rate of cancer-causing problems as other smoking. I can't imagine driving while under the influence of marijuana as it does alter the mind.

TOPEKA

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This year, Kansas will again face the introduction of legislation seeking to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. Despite recent attempts to generate public support for these efforts, such a softening of the restrictions on marijuana use continues to be a seriously flawed concept.

These initiatives bypass the Food and Drug Administration processes that protect the public from harmful medications and treatments. Smoked marijuana has a high addictive potential and lacks any acceptable safety date for its use, even under medical supervision. It is a crude delivery system, which exposes users to a host of harmful substances. Authentic research is still needed to identify valid uses for inhaled marijuana. Until that research is available and until new and safer delivery systems are devised and approved, Kansas shouldn't bypass the FDA safeguards with regard to any form marijuana.

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Almost every year, attempts are made to get medical-excuse marijuana laws passed in Kansas. These attempts tend to drive public perception of marijuana as being less harmful than it is and as an acceptable drug for use.

The weakening of medical marijuana laws, laws that violate the FDA approval process in the first place, facilitate abuse. The overall atmosphere with the softening of marijuana laws does put young people at greater risk as a result of diminished perception of risk or harm of using marijuana.

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I take strong exception to the assertions by Dr. Jon Hauxwell, reported Sept. 30 in The Topeka Capital-Journal, that marijuana for medicinal purposes is essentially harmless.

Such comments reflect either ignorance of the medical literature or malignant disregard of it. More concerning is that The Capital-Journal did not challenge these assertions nor provide a contrary point of view.

While it is true that marijuana does not cause overdose deaths because it does not suppress respiration, there exists a host of new data demonstrating significant problems with acute psychosis and difficulty with long-term use causing diminished cognitive brain function, as well as mental decline in HIV and multiple sclerosis patients who use it medically. Recent reports have also emerged tying marijuana use to testicular cancer and problems with pregnancy.

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Experts, Advocates Tout Benefits of Cannabis

Topeka City Councilman Andrew Gray sees benefits to legalizing cannabis.

For instance, he said, a wonderful revenue source for governments would be created if marijuana were regulated and taxed. Gray also cited potential quality of life gains to be had from medical weed - more diverse treatment and pain management options would be available outside of pharmaceutical drugs.

Gray was among several speakers Saturday afternoon during a rally on the south side of the Statehouse in support of cannabis. Experts and advocates stood behind a lectern in turn to tout marijuana and stump for its legalization.

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Leavenworth, Kan. - With the approaching retirement of its Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer, the Leavenworth Police Department is going to put the D.A.R.E. program on hold, a department official said.

Leavenworth Police Chief Pat Kitchens said he doesn't anticipate the program, which is taught by police to school children, will be reinstated before the next school year.

"It's not a simple task to replace a D.A.R.E. officer," Kitchens said.

He said the position requires training. And manpower issues also may have an impact.

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State and local law enforcement have recently taken on a larger role in seeking out manufacturers and distributors of synthetic drugs.

On July 25, acting in accordance with a provision in federal drug laws, the Drug Enforcement Administration, conducted Operation Logjam, a nationwide action aimed at synthetic drug manufacturers.

Arrests and drug seizures were made in more than 100 locations in the U.S., including Garden City. Scott Collier, a DEA spokesman, who couldn't comment specifically about the Garden City raid, said the operation was a reaction to what local law enforcement have been reporting.

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TEWKSBURY, Mass. - Russ Caswell, 68, is bewildered. He and his wife, Pat, are ensnared in a Kafkaesque nightmare unfolding in Orwellian language.

This town's police department is conniving with the federal government to circumvent Massachusetts law - which is less permissive than federal law - to seize his livelihood and retirement asset. In the lawsuit titled "United States of America vs. 434 Main Street, Tewksbury, Massachusetts" the government is suing an inanimate object, the motel Caswell's father built in 1955. The U.S. Department of Justice intends to seize it, sell it for perhaps $1.5 million and give up to 80 percent of that to the Tewksbury Police Department. The Caswells have not been charged with a crime. They are being persecuted by two governments eager to profit from what is antiseptically called the "equitable sharing" of the fruits of civil forfeiture, a process of government enrichment often indistinguishable from robbery.

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When the recent Summit of the Americas in Colombia decided to commission a study on whether to decriminalize drugs, many thought that would be the end of it, and the whole thing would be quickly forgotten. Well, maybe not.

For starters, it was the first time that such a large group of heads of state ventured into that once taboo area. And there are several other non-related factors that may contribute to put decriminalization in the front burner later this year, or in early 2013.

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For the first time since the United States launched its "war on drugs" four decades ago, there are signs that the forces supporting legalization or de-criminalization of illegal drugs are gaining momentum across the hemisphere.

Granted, this is a debate that is just starting at government levels, and that will take years to produce concrete results.

But there are several new factors, including a reduction of U.S. anti-narcotic aid to Latin America proposed by the Obama Administration in its 2013 budget announced last week, that are beginning to pose an increasingly serious challenge to the traditional interdiction-based U.S. anti-drug strategies.

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For the first time since the United States launched its "war on drugs" four decades ago, there are signs that the forces supporting legalization or de-criminalization of illegal drugs are gaining momentum across the hemisphere.

Granted, this is a debate that is just starting at government levels, and that will take years to produce concrete results.

But there are several new factors, including a reduction of U.S. anti-narcotic aid to Latin America proposed by the Obama administration in its 2013 budget announced last week, that are beginning to pose an increasingly serious challenge to the traditional interdiction-based U.S. anti-drug strategies.

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Much has been made of Gov. Sam Brownback's Christianity, and Kansas is widely recognized as a conservative state with a foundation grounded on Christian principles. This ideology plays a vital role in making our beautiful state what it is. Kansans are recognized for our strong moral ethics and family values. The majority of us also consider ourselves to be Christians.

One of the primary virtues of Christianity is compassion. We feel compassion for any of our fellow citizens who struggle and suffer for any reason, and try to help them in any way we can. Hundreds of Kansans struggle and suffer, day in and day out, with chronic, painful medical conditions that have proved to respond well to cannabis (marijuana) therapy.

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Due to numerous scientific studies from around the world, the AIDS Action Council, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Nurses Association, the American Preventive Medical Association, the American Public Health Association, the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, the California Academy of Family Physicians, the California Medical Association, the California Pharmacists Association, Cure AIDS Now, the Florida Medical Association, the Los Angeles County AIDS Commission, the Lymphoma Foundation of America and too many more to list have endorsed medical cannabis (marijuana).

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Topeka -- Even though a bill legalizing the medical use of marijuana is now in both sides of the Kansas Legislature, officials have shown little interest in making it a law.

Sen. David Haley, D-Kansas City, introduced Senate Bill 354, the Cannabis Compassion and Care Act, during Monday's session. It was referred to the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, where it will likely sit without a hearing.

"I have no interest on hearing the bill," said Sen. Vicki Schmidt, R-Topeka, who leads the committee.

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After an hour-and-a-half of testimony in which medical marijuana was alternately painted as a pain-killing panacea and a youth-destroying gateway drug, Rep. Ed Trimmer had one simple request: a little more science.

"Do we have any evidence on either side from sources like the National Cancer Institute, the American Medical Association, the New England Journal of Medicine, the American Opthamological Association Journal?" Trimmer asked. "... I would hope that we have something in the medical profession that tells us whether these things work or not. I like to base policy on sound research."

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TOPEKA -- About 25 people rallied Tuesday in support of a bill that would legalize marijuana for medical reasons.

Jason Selmon, chairman of the Kannabis Project, said he hoped the Legislature would vote on House Bill 2330, the Cannabis Compassion and Care Act.

"That's what Kansans deserve. Popular opinion is overwhelmingly in support for medical marijuana," Selmon said.

The measure would legalize marijuana use for people with debilitating conditions, such as cancer.

In addition, it would provide for the registration and operations of not-for-profit "compassion centers," which would have the authority to possess, cultivate, manufacture and dispense marijuana. Buyers would have to have a doctor's prescription and a license from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

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TOPEKA - The prospects for a formal debate on medical marijuana in the Statehouse all but died after a hearing Tuesday.

"They didn't bring anything that we haven't heard or seen," said Rep. Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican and chair of the Health and Human Services Committee that heard the proposed medical marijuana bill.

Several other lawmakers on the committee said they don't think there's enough support to warrant more discussion, at least during the 2012 session.

But about 20 supporters were poised to press on and told lawmakers about the relief marijuana has provided for a wide range of diseases and aliments. That was contrasted by a few opponents who said medical marijuana has caused problems in other states and is ripe for abuse.

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