By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN
This winter we reported that Kansas is one of just four stateswith the strictest cannabis laws in the country.
Some farmers can now look at the possiblity of growing hemp — good for industrial use, no good for getting high — after changes made in Kansas law.
FILE PHOTO / HARVEST PUBLIC MEDIA
But the 2018 legislative session that ended earlier this month shook the state’s legal landscape. So what has changed and what hasn’t?
CBD is now legal
Quick recap: Cannabidiol, or CBD, is one of the compounds in the cannabis plant that doesn’t get people high, and that advocates say has medical benefits. Some studies have found it helps people suffering from seizures.
Shops in Kansas were certainly selling it and people were buying, but both were technically crimes because whether they get you high or not, CBD products counted as marijuana under Kansas law.
So this year — after years of pleas from the family members of people suffering seizures — lawmakers tweaked the law.
CBD is now legal after Gov. Jeff Colyer signed legislation Monday. And unlike some states — Missouri, for instance, legalized it with tight limits on either who can sell it or who can buy it — Kansas opted for broad access.
Hemp is back
Growing this crop used to be legal and common. In 2014, the federal government began allowing it again in limited circumstances. Hemp is in a bunch of products — fabrics, foods, building materials, you name it — but right now the U.S. mostly imports from places like Canada and China.
Hemp comes from the same plant species as marijuana, just a different variety with taller stalks (to maximize fiber yield) than the one people use to get high.
Kansas is taking the federal government up on its offer to allow regulated pilot programs for growing, researching and selling hemp. The state agriculture department is working on finding farmers and setting up that program.
Want more background on hemp and other products? Read our primer
Among the questions they’ll be exploring are which hemp seeds best suit Kansas growing conditions and how drought-tolerant they are.
Marijuana is still a no-no
So here’s a good rule of thumb now for cannabis-related products in Kansas: if it gets you high, it’s definitely illegal.
At least 30 states let people use marijuana. In most of them, you need a doctor’s prescription.
Kansas advocates of medical marijuana continue to push for that, but neither their House bill nor Senate bill got a hearing this year.
Celia Llopis-Jepsen is a reporter for the Kansas News Service. You can reach her on Twitter @Celia_LJ.