Want to light up a legal joint in Kansas? You’ll be waiting a while | The Wichita Eagle

Proponents of medical and recreational marijuana say it’s only a matter of time before Kansas legalizes marijuana. But Thursday’s decision by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to cancel a policy that had allowed legal marijuana to flourish in several states is a setback.

The U.S. Department of Justice is rescinding an Obama-era policy that said the agency would not stand in the way of states that had legalized the drug. Prosecutors will now have greater discretion over how aggressively to enforce the federal ban on marijuana.

Even as legalization has taken hold in other states, Kansas has seen little movement. Sessions’ announcement is likely to make advancing legislation even more difficult.

Bills in the Kansas Legislature to legalize medical marijuana have struggled. A Senate bill was voted out of committee last year but never received debate on the floor. A House bill hasn’t received a hearing.

Proponents of legalization say the plant has less harmful effects than alcohol and can be used to provide relief for a variety of ailments. Opponents say marijuana use has a social cost, just like alcohol, and that it remains federally prohibited.

"It’s against federal law and until federal law changes, states are treading on thin ice," said Rep. Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican who chairs the House Health and Human Services Committee.

"With the change of administration, all the federal government has to do is change their policy, their internal policy, and say we’re going to start enforcing the law. And then all of a sudden, what are all those places in Colorado, in Washington and California – all the various places – what are they going to do?"

Kansans appear split over legalization. Half of Kansans support legalizing recreational use, according to a poll conducted last spring by Fort Hays State University. About 40 percent oppose legalization.

Support is stronger for medical marijuana. About 76 percent support medicinal use.

Rep. Gail Finney, D-Wichita, has introduced medical marijuana legislation multiple times along with Sen. David Haley, D-Kansas City. But she said the bill hasn’t been able to gain traction in the House.

"Kansas has a history of being the last to implement progressive policies on different issues," Finney said.

Twenty-nine states allow some form of medical marijuana. None of the states bordering Kansas has legalized medical marijuana, however, with the exception of Colorado.

More than half a dozen states allow some form of recreational marijuana use. California became the latest, with recreational sales allowed to begin Jan. 1.

The increasing number of states with either recreational or medical marijuana shows how mainstream marijuana has become, said Esau Freeman, vice president of Kansas for Change, which advocates for legalization.

"I don’t think it’s a matter of if this will happen, it’s a matter of when it will happen," Freeman said.

The move by Sessions holds the potential to complicate efforts by states to legalize marijuana, however. His decision opens the door to renewed prosecution of federal marijuana law violations in states that have legalized.

Sessions said in a memo on Thursday that "prosecutors should follow the well-established principles that govern all federal prosecutions" by considering the seriousness of the crime and its impact on the community. He noted in the memo that marijuana remains federally illegal.

Even if Kansas lawmakers advanced marijuana legislation this year – which appears unlikely – supporters would potentially face a skeptical governor.

"I’ve not been a fan," Gov. Sam Brownback said Thursday of marijuana legalization.

Still, Brownback has approved legislation in the past lessening penalties for marijuana possession. A 2016 bill he signed into law lowered the severity of first and second-time marijuana possession offenses.

First-time marijuana possession became a lower level misdemeanor. Second-time possession had been a felony but is now a misdemeanor.

Another bill signed by Brownback last year lowered penalties for possession of drug paraphernalia used for consuming marijuana or cultivating fewer than five marijuana plants.

Contributing: The Associated Press