TOPEKA (KSNT) – With the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) planning to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, what would the impact be on Kansas?
Kansas Cannabis Coalition advocate Kelly Rippel says if the government reclassifies marijuana, Kansas lawmakers will have to respond.
“We’re not looking very intelligent in the drug policy arena at this point,” Rippel said.
Marijuana is currently a Schedule I substance in the same class as heroin, LSD and ecstasy. The reclassification could see marijuana moved into the Schedule III drugs list. The DEA considers Schedule III drugs as substances with low or moderate potential for psychological dependence.
Schedule III drugs are still controlled substances and subject to rules and regulations, and people who traffic them without permission could still face federal criminal prosecution.
“We’ve reached a critical mass point where the majority of Kansans want medical cannabis,” Rippel said. “President Biden has come out and said medical should be recognized, Kansas has to do something and its beyond time to do that.”
Political Science Professor at Washburn University Bob Beatty said the immediate impact on Kansas would be “not much”. He said the reason rescheduling would have minimal impact on Kansas is partially because of the lengthy review process. Additionally, the rescheduling would need to be ratified by the U.S. Congress.
“If marijuana is reclassified, then it still would be illegal in KS and thus not available in the medicines that it would be available in legal states,” Beatty said.
In written opposition to Senate Bill 555, Legalization of Medical Marijuana, Kansas Bureau of Investigation Director Tony Mattivi said Kansans already have legally available prescriptions for Food and Drug Administration-approved marijuana products like Epidiolex, Marinol and Cesamet.
“Because there is no legitimate medical need for SB 555, I suggest there are two true purposes for this bill: incrementalism and profit,” Mattivi said on March 27. “Incrementalism means that this bill is one step toward the cannabis industry’s goal to normalize marijuana use at any level. The next step, of course, would be to widen the ‘medical marijuana’ approvals.”
Mattivi referenced a ProPublica article from March 14, 2024, wherein Terry Gross spoke on NPR’s show Fresh Air.
“When states started legalizing marijuana, one of the hopes was that it would cut down on
crime because people could buy it legally from licensed sellers,” Gross said. “But in some states,
including Oklahoma, legalization inadvertently helped organized crime, especially the
Chinese mafia, exploit new opportunities.”
Mattivi said since Oklahoma legalized medical marijuana, the homicide rate increased, property crime rate increased, human trafficking increased and now the state has a “novel” drug problem with ketamine.
“Historically, it is not a drug of choice among Oklahomans, but is now being found at crime scenes in the state,” Mattivi wrote in his opposition letter. “Not coincidentally, ketamine is a drug of choice within Asian crime syndicates.”
According to a report from the Associated Press, the immediate effect of rescheduling on the nation’s criminal justice system would likely be muted since federal prosecutions for simple possession have been rare in recent years.
Rippel says rescheduling marijuana would vindicate arguments that advocates like himself have had for over a decade.
“This will force lawmakers to do something about it,” Rippel said. “We will be surrounded; we are surrounded by decriminalized states. This will only push others like Nebraska to do so. We cannot in good faith keep Kansas as an island.”
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The Associated Press contributed to this article.
