A Guide to Kansas Cannabis Law
Kansas is one of only 13 states that lacks a comprehensive medical cannabis law and one of only 19 states that still punishes simple possession of cannabis with jail time.
The possession and sale of any amount of marijuana is illegal in Kansas, and potential penalties vary by the amount possessed or sold.
Overview:
- Patients with any of more than 20 qualifying conditions—including cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, and autoimmune disorders—would be eligible for medical cannabis.
- Patients would be entitled to obtain a 30-day supply of medical cannabis products at a time.
- Possession of up to 1.5 ounces of marijuana by a person who isn’t registered as a patient would be decriminalized, punishable by a maximum fine of $400.
- Patients’ medical cannabis recommendations would be valid for 90 days, after which point a physician could renew the recommendations for three additional periods. Then extensions could be authorized following a physical examination of the patient annually.
- Multiple regulatory bodies would be in charge of administering the program. The state Department of Health and Environment, Board of Healing Arts, Board of Pharmacy and a renamed Alcohol and Cannabis Control division would each play a role in the regulations.
- The bill calls for five different license types: cultivators, processors, laboratories, distributors and retailers.
- People would be rendered ineligible for a medical marijuana licenses if they’ve been convicted of a felony, unless that conviction was expunged at least 10 years before the application is submitted.
- There would also be a 35 percent THC cap on marijuana plant material.
- Counties would be able to enact local bans on permitting marijuana retailers from operating within their jurisdictions through the adopt of a resolution.
- With respect to equity provisions, there does not appear to be an explicit pathway for expungements.
Here are some of the changes that the House said it was willing to accept from the Senate bill:
- Pushing back the effective date of the law and deadlines for its implementation.
- Removing a 70 percent THC cap on cannabis concentrates.
- Out-of-state patients would have reciprocity to both possess and purchase marijuana if they’re registered with their state.
- Preventing discrimination in real estate transactions to lease or sell property to registered medical marijuana patients.
- Keep the Senate’s licensing application requirements, terms of licensing and rules on where cannabis businesses can operate.
- Requiring certain security measures at medical marijuana businesses.
- Requiring the state to enter into agreements with tribal governments in order to exchange cannabis.
- Doctors wouldn’t have to start “prescribing,” rather than recommending, medical marijuana if the federal government reclassifies cannabis.
Here are some areas where the House insisted on its version, or offered a compromise:
- Maintaining most of the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana, which includes more than 20 ailments, but keeping its more limited language and removing glaucoma.
- Allowing people to receive a medical marijuana business licenses after at least three years of residency in Kansas. The original House bill called for four years, while the Senate had two years.
- Allowing regulators to create a unique payment process system for cannabis sales in coordination with the state treasurer.
- Keeping a $500 license fee for associated employees of medical marijuana businesses, but lowering fees for other employee types.
- Keeping state and local licensing eligibility requirements as stated in the House bill.
Kansas Marijuana Penalties
| Kansas | |||
| Offense | Penalty | Incarceration | Max. Fine |
| Possession | |||
| CBD products with 0% THC | None | None | $0 |
| Any amount | Misdemeanor | 6 months | $1,000 |
| With Intent to Distribute | |||
| 450 g or more | Felony | 10 – 42 months probation | $100,000 |
| Sale or Distribution | |||
| CBD products with 0% THC | None | None | $0 |
| Less than 25 g | Felony | 14 – 51 months | $300,000 |
| 25 – less than 450 g | Felony | 46 – 83 months | $300,000 |
| 450 g – less than 30 kg | Felony | 92 – 144 months | $500,000 |
| 30 kg or more | Felony | 138 – 204 months | $500,000 |
| Within 1000 feet of a school zone | Felony | 4** – 7 years | $300,000 |
| ** Mandatory minimum sentence | |||
| Cultivation | |||
| More than 4 – less than 50 plants | Felony | 46 – 83 months | $300,000 |
| 50 – less than 100 plants | Felony | 92 – 144 months | $500,000 |
| 100 plants or more | Felony | 138 – 204 months | $500,000 |
| Hash & Concentrates | |||
| Penalties for hashish are the same as for marijuana. | |||
| Paraphernalia | |||
| Store, Ingest | Misdemeanor | 1 year | $2,500 |
| Paraphernalia to cultivate less than 5 plants | Misdemeanor | 1 year | $2,500 |
| Paraphernalia to cultivate 5 plants or more | Felony | 5 – 7 months probation | $100,000 |
| Sale | Misdemeanor | 1 year | $2,500 |
| Sale to a minor or within 1,000 ft of a school | Felony | 5 – 7 months probation | $100,000 |
| Miscellaneous | |||
| Kansas has a marijuana tax stamp law enacted. |
Here’s why these marijuana products are now allowed in Kansas — even without medical cannabis law
- The bill would allow Kansans to be prescribed medication derived from cannabis-related products, the active ingredient found in cannabis, provided the drug is approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
- One cannabis-derived drug has already been approved by the FDA, signing off on the drug Epidiolex in 2018. Restrictions on that medication have been fully lifted under the Kansas legislation, with the drug used to treat epilepsy caused by two rare conditions, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome.
- Three synthetic cannabis-related products have also been signed off on by the FDA, all of which are used to treat nausea in those undergoing chemotherapy for cancer treatment, as well as AIDS patients.
What does Kansas law mean for new drugs approved by the FDA?
- But more drugs are expected to get approval shortly and lawmakers wanted to be well- positioned for the state to take advantage of that slow expansion.
- Medical marijuana is not legal in Kansas. All marijuana possession, manufacture, sales, and use is criminalized in the state.
Kansas Cannabis Advertising Law
- No advertising regulations in place
Cannabis Tax Law
- Medical cannabis sales would be subject to the state sales tax of 5.75 percent, with the option of adding a local tax.
Kansas Stamp Taxes
- A stamp tax is a tax imposed on certain types of transactions (such as the transfer of property) that requires a stamp to be purchased and attached either to the item sold or to an instrument documenting the transaction (such as a deed). The federal government imposes stamp taxes on deeds, the issue and transfer of stocks and bonds, and on playing cards.
- In Kansas, those who buy, transport, or import marijuana into the state are required to pay a stamp tax and place the stamp (proof of payment) onto the contraband. However, because the possession of marijuana is illegal, people typically don’t pay the stamp tax. When you are convicted for possession, you will also be liable for payment of the unpaid taxes ($3.50 for each gram or portion of a gram). (Kan. Stat. Ann. § 79-5202 (2019).)