TOPEKA (KSNT) - Kansas advocates and lawmakers have tried for years to legalize marijuana but after years of trying have yet to find success. So, what's holding the state back and can advocates hold onto hope that weed will ever be legalized in Kansas? Lawmakers were back in session in the spring of 2025 but even though legislation was introduced to lower criminal penalties for weed and allow for the use of medical marijuana, legalization appears to be out of reach this year for Kansans wanting to join neighboring Coloradoans, Missourians and Oklahomans. The Sunflower State is one of the last states in the nation that has yet to accept legalized medical cannabis and/or recreational marijuana, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Advocates for weed, like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and opponents of legalization, like the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and the Kansas Office of the Attorney General, continue to clash regularly in Kansas, arguing their cases for why marijuana should be given the green light or remain an illegal drug, respectively. Debate on the topic continues despite the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) suggesting the reclassification of marijuana from a "Schedule I" group to a less dangerous "Schedule III" substance in 2024 and the reported economic benefits experienced by states that have legalized weed. Kansas has $600 million in unclaimed property. Are you owed any? So why hasn't marijuana legalization materialized in Kansas yet and is there anything advocates could try differently to get the 'okay' for weed? 27 News reached out to a marijuana advocate, political scientist and lawmakers to find get the answers. "It's not just disappointing, it's sickening at this point..." 27 News spoke with Kelly Rippel, a longtime advocate for marijuana legalization and advisor to the Kansas Cannabis Coalition, about the current state of affairs in the Sunflower State. He said he has been part of the ongoing conversation and push to legalize marijuana in Kansas for the past decade and has played a part in some of the numerous attempts to get new legislation passed. "What it comes down to is... we have a heavily entrenched prohibition stance to drugs in general," Rippel said. "It's a waste to taxpayer dollars at this point." Found an arrowhead in Kansas? Archaeologist urges you to leave it alone Rippel said many Kansans have been hoping for legalization for years now, including those who would benefit from the medicinal use of cannabis. He blames conservative leadership for preventing Kansas from adopting a legalization program thus far. "It's not just disappointing, it's sickening at this point," Rippel said. "Our legislators are foregoing their responsibilities to act. It's beyond disappointing." Marijuana advocates like Rippel have found it discouraging over the years to experience consistent and strong opposition to legalization measures from state lawmakers as other nearby states gradually pass marijuana legislation of their own. When asked for his thoughts on marijuana legislation that has been introduced in the Kansas Legislature this year and in years past, he said it is frustrating to see many bills get no committee hearings or not see any action after being put before lawmakers. "It's very aggravating and frustrating to see this in action when we have literally spoon-fed information time and again to different groups of lawmakers over the years," Rippel said. "To be a productive lawmaker, in my viewpoint, you need to be engaging with folks and we have not had the level of engagement with this [marijuana legalization]." New blackout-style license plates get the green light in Kansas, what that means Rippel argues that legalization would not only benefit the health of many Kansans, but also provide the state with additional revenue from marijuana-related businesses. He pointed to the recently published 2024 Kansas Speaks Survey from Fort Hays State University, which took responses from 645 adult state residents, revealing that just over 65% of Kansans support legalizing recreational marijuana. "It's [marijuana legalization] important to all Kansans," Rippel said. Rippel said he is still optimistic in some respects, saying that Kansas has more work being done for legalization than Idaho, the only other state in the U.S. which has yet to legalize marijuana recreationally or for medicinal purposes. However, with many pieces of marijuana legislation effectively dead after being introduced, Rippel remains uncertain how marijuana advocates should change their strategy moving forward. "I don't know what it's gonna take," Rippel said. Biologists to release more alligator snapping turtles in Kansas Marijuana legalization in a red state 27 News spoke with Michael Smith, a professor of political science at Emporia State University (ESU), for his take on the current battle for legalization in Kansas. He pointed to Republican House Speaker Dan Hawkins and Republican Senate President Ty Masterson as being the largest roadblocks to pursuing successful marijuana legislation. "I think it's overwhelmingly because of leadership in the House and Senate," Smith said. "Hawkins in the House and Masterson in the Senate are adamantly opposed to marijuana, both medical and recreational." Nexstar's Capitol Bureau interviewed Masterson in January 2024 for his take on marijuana legislation. Masterson raised concerns over marijuana legislation that year, pointing to a possible rise in gang activity and a need to protect the state's children from potentially harmful drugs. Moving this tree in Kansas could get you in trouble starting in 2027, what to know The Kansas Legislature is predominantly controlled by the Republican Party, with only 23 Democrat representatives in the 125-member House and nine Democrats in the 40-member Senate in 2025. The Kansas GOP retained its supermajority control of the state Legislature during the 2024 General Election. Smith said the combined leadership of Hawkins and Masterson, along with a large amount of opposition in general from the Kansas GOP, is more than enough to prevent marijuana bills from finding success despite changing opinions among the general population. He said some interest exists among Republicans to pass a medical marijuana measure, but not enough to get it through the Kansas Legislature and move to the governor's desk. Smith said law enforcement is fairly divided on marijuana, with some agencies no longer pursuing charges against offenders while others may use marijuana as a pretext for searches. He sees the most progress towards decriminalization being made not at the state level but more locally. "Probably the best avenue which is already being used is decriminalization at the local level which has been done in Wichita and Lawrence," Smith said. "That's probably your best bet." What is the Kansas 'Left Turn Lane' law? While local law enforcement may be divided on marijuana, state law enforcement organizations like the Kansas Attorney General's Office and the KBI still regularly oppose legalization. Both agencies opposed legislation in 2024 that would have created a medical cannabis pilot program. Tony Mattivi, director of the KBI, submitted testimony last year stating the purpose of the medical cannabis pilot program was actually meant to open the door for recreational marijuana to be legalized. He went on to say there isn't a legitimate medical need for the program due to the availability of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) via prescription in Kansas. “The motive underlying the legalization of marijuana is pure profit," Mattivi said. "The marijuana industry seeks to first argue the need for marijuana as medicine while taking incremental steps toward full legalization. They prioritize profit over the lives of real people.” Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, meanwhile, sent in testimony in 2024 stating that medical marijuana legalization could lead to a rise in people driving under the influence, posing a risk to public safety. He also cited Oklahoma's medical marijuana program, claiming many people abuse it for recreational, rather than medicinal, use. “Legalizing marijuana in any form is an open invitation for organized crime to set up shop in our state, and as an agency that sets out to protect Kansans, we can’t support it," Mattivi said. What are ‘sovereign citizen’ license plates and are they legal? Smith said Kansas has "very, very narrow" options for making marijuana legalization a reality. As long as the current status quo remains in place, it is unlikely Kansas will see medical or recreational marijuana become legalized as it has in neighboring states. "Hawkins and Masterson have a pretty tight reign on the Legislature," Smith said. "They have a very high degree of control stopping things they don't want passed. Unless there is a major change in either the partisan balance of the Legislature or the Republicans caucus, I don't see anything changing." 27 News reached out to the Kansas Office of the Attorney General, Masterson and Hawkins for updated statements on the issue of marijuana legalization but has yet to receive any responses. Past pushes for legalization Democrats and Republicans have introduced dozens of bills over the years that deal with medical and recreational marijuana, many receiving little or no committee action after being introduced, eventually receiving the description "died in committee." The Kansas Legislative Research Department (KLRD) provided the full list of bills that have been introduced over the last decade that dealt with topics related to marijuana. 27 News examined all of the marijuana bills introduced in the Kansas Legislature from 2015 to 2025, finding that, while many were introduced or supported by Democrats, a minority of these pieces of legislation were introduced by Republicans. Republican-backed bills mostly dealt with industrial hemp and medical marijuana, while Democrats have pushed for other measures such as decriminalizing weed and full recreational use. Lawmakers approve change to the Kansas Constitution over voting rights Out of the 51 bills and resolutions introduced from 2015 to 2025, 29 received little or no action at the Kansas Legislature. The four bills introduced this year have yet to receive any action as lawmakers in the House and Senate enter recess until January in 2026. You can check through the full list below: 2025 Senate Bill 294 - enacts the Kansas Medical Cannabis Act that authorizes the cultivation, processing, distribution, sale and use of medical cannabis and medical cannabis products. Introduced in 2025 at the request of the Kansas Cannabis Coalition, Inc., Cannabis Justice Coalition and Kansas Cannabis Chamber of Commerce. Senate Bill 295 - removes the criminal penalties for possession of a personal-use quantity of marijuana and creates a civil penalty for possession of a personal-use quantity of marijuana. Introduced by the Cannabis Justice Coalition in 2025. House Bill 2405 - enacts the Adult Use Cannabis Regulation Act to regulate the cultivation, manufacturing, possession and sale of cannabis in Kansas. Introduced by the Committee on Federal and State Affairs in 2025. House Bill 2354 - provides an exception to the crime of unlawful possession of controlled substances for residents of Kansas who possess marijuana and are disabled veterans with a valid medical marijuana card issued by any state. Introduced by the Committee on Judiciary in 2025. 2024 Senate Bill 555 - creates the Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act to establish the Medical Cannabis Pilot program for limited cultivation, processing and dispensing of medical cannabis and medical cannabis products. Introduced by Kansas Natural Remedies in 2024, later died in committee that same year. Senate Bill 558 - creates the Kansas Medical Cannabis Act to authorize the cultivation, processing, distribution, sale and use of medical cannabis and medical cannabis products and the Kansas Cannabidiol Regulation Act to regulate the testing and retail sale of cannabidiol products. Introduced by the Capitol Hill Association, LCC in 2024 and died in committee later that same year. Received no action. 2023 Senate Bill 135 - creates the Medical Cannabis Regulation Act to regulate the cultivation, processing, distribution, sale and use of medical cannabis. Introduced by Republican Senator Jeff Longbine in 2023, died in committee in 2024. Senate Bill 171 - creates the Veterans First Medical Cannabis Act to regulate the cultivation, distribution, sale, possession and use of medical cannabis. Introduced by one Republican and seven Democrat senators in 2023, died in committee in 2024. Received no action. Senate Bill 310 - creates the Medical Cannabis Regulation Act to regulation the cultivation, processing, distribution, sale and use of medical cannabis. Introduced in 2023 by Democrat Senator Cindy Holscher, died in committee in 2024. Received no action. House Bill 2363 - releases any person convicted of a drug offense involving marijuana from such person's sentence and provides for the expungement of any associated records. Introduced by 35 Democrat representatives in 2023, died in committee in 2024. Received no action. House Bill 2367 - creates the Adult Use Cannabis Regulation Act to regulate the cultivation, manufacturing, possession and sale of cannabis in Kansas. Introduced by Democrat Representative Silas Miller in 2023, died in committee in 2024. House Bill 2417 - creates the Medical Cannabis Regulation Act to regulate the cultivation, processing, distribution, sale and use of medical cannabis. Introduced by Democrat Representative Dennis Highberger in 2023, died in committee the following year. 2022 Senate Bill 560 - enacts the Medical Marijuana Regulation Act to regulate the cultivation, processing, distribution, sale and use of medical marijuana. Introduced by the Committee on Federal and State Affairs in 2022, died in committee later that same year. House Bill 2540 - updating schedules I, II, IV and V of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act and excluding Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drug products from the definition of marijuana. Introduced by 68 Democrat and Republican representatives in 2022, later approved by Governor Laura Kelly that same year. House Bill 2780 - establishes standards for laboratory licenses that test medical marijuana and requires the director of alcoholic beverage control to adopt rules and regulations regarding testing laboratories. Introduced by The Capitol Lobby Group in 2022, died on the calendar later that same year. House Concurrent Resolution 5025 - constitutional amendment legalizing the recreational use of marijuana on July 1, 2023. Introduced in 2022 by 23 Democrat representatives, later died in committee that same year. Received no action. House Concurrent Resolution 5026 - constitutional amendment authorizing the medical use of marijuana on July 1, 2023. Introduced by 34 Democrat representatives in 2022, later died in committee that same year. Received no action. 2021 Senate Bill 92 - creates the Kansas Equal Access Act to authorize the use of medical marijuana. Introduced by the Committee on Commerce in 2021, died in committee in 2022. Received no action. Senate Bill 287 - enacts the Kansas Medical Marijuana Regulation Act and enacts the Kansas Innovative Solutions for Affordable Healthcare Act to expand medical assistance eligibility. Introduced by the Committee on Federal and State Affairs in 2021 and later died in committee in 2022. Received no action. Senate Bill 315 - creates the Kansas Medical Marijuana Regulation Act to regulate the production, distribution, sale and possession of medical marijuana. Introduced by the Committee on Ways and Means in 2021 and died in committee the following year. Received no action. House Bill 2040 - changes the Workers Compensation Law presumption of disqualifying drug impairment on the basis of certain drug concentration test levels from conclusive to rebuttable and removes the presumption with respect to marijuana. Introduced by Democrat Representative John Carmichael in 2021, later died in committee in 2022. Received no action. House Bill 2184 - creates the Kansas Medical Marijuana Regulation Act. Introduced by the Committee on Federal and State Affairs in 2021, later died in committee in 2022. House Bill 2389 - authorizes a notice to appear for unlawful possession of marijuana and defines the complaint in the Kansas Code of Criminal Procedure to include such notice to appear. Introduced by the Committee on Judiciary in 2021 and died on the calendar in 2022. House Bill 2430 - creates the Kansas Cannabis Legalization Act to authorize the cultivation, manufacture, sale, possession and use of cannabis and cannabis products. Introduced by the Committee on Federal and State Affairs in 2021, died in committee in 2022. Received no action. House Bill 2436 - enacts the Kansas Medical Marijuana Regulation Act and enacts the Kansas Innovative Solutions for Affordable Healthcare Act to expand medical assistance eligibility. Introduced by Committee on Federal and State Affairs in 2021 and later died in committee in 2022. Received no action. House Substitute for Senate Bill 158 - creates the Kansas Medical Marijuana Regulation Act. Introduced by the Committee on Transportation in 2021 originally as a bill on towing services but was later amended to add in language for medical marijuana use. The bill died in committee in 2022. Senate Substitute for House Bill 2262 - updates schedules I, II, IV and V of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. Introduced by the Committee on Health and Human Services in 2021, later died in conference in 2022. 2020 Senate Bill 449 - removes cannabis products that contain up to 0.3% THC from the list of controlled substances listed in schedule I of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. Introduced by the Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources in 2020 and died in committee later that same year. House Bill 2017 - creates the Kansas Equal Access Act to authorize the use of medical marijuana. Introduced by eight Democrat representatives during the 2020 Special Session, died in committee later that same year. Received no action. House Bill 2686 - removes felony violation of possession of marijuana and releases people currently in prison for such violations. Introduced by Democrat Representative Dennis Highberger in 2020 on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Died in committee later that same year. House Bill 2709 - removes cannabis products that contain up to 0.3% THC from the list of controlled substances listed in schedule I of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. Introduced in 2020 by the Kansas Farmers for Alternative Crop Expansion. Received no action. House Bill 2740 - creates the Kansas Medical Marijuana Regulation Act. Introduced in 2020 by Republican Representative John Barker, died in committee later that same year. Received no action. House Bill 2742 - creates the Kansas Equal Access Act to authorize the use of medical marijuana. Introduced in 2020 by Republican Representative John Eplee, died in committee later that same year. Received no action. 2019 Senate Bill 28 - creates an affirmative defense to the crime of possession of a controlled substance for possession of certain medical treatments. Introduced in 2019 as a bill on insurance but later amended to create and amend Kansas law related to possession of certain cannabidiol treatment preparations. Governor Laura Kelly signed it into law in 2019. Senate Bill 113 - provides for the legal use of medical cannabis. Introduced in 2019 by one Republican and seven Democrat representatives in 2019. Later died in committee in 2020. Senate Bill 195 - enacts the Kansas Safe Access Act which provides for the safe, legal, humanitarian and therapeutic use of cannabis for medical conditions. Introduced in 2019 by the Committee on Public Health and Welfare and died in committee the following year. Received no action. House Bill 2163 - provides for the legal use of medical cannabis. Introduced by two Republicans and two Democrats in 2019. Died in committee in 2020. Received no action. House Bill 2303 - enacts the Kansas Safe Access Act. Introduced in a bipartisan effort in 2019, later died in committee in 2020. Received no action. House Bill 2350 - removes felony violation of possession, cultivation and distribution of marijuana. Introduced by Democrat Representative Dennis Highberger on behalf to he American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas in 2019, later died in committee in 2020. Received no action. House Bill 2413 - enacts the Human Solution for Kansas Act; regulation of the production and sale of medical cannabis. Introduced by Democrat Representative Dennis Highberger in 2019. Died in committee the following year. Received no action. 2018 Senate Bill 263 - creates a program to research the use of industrial hemp. Introduced in 2018 by Republican Senator Dan Kerschen. Passed into law later that same year. House Bill 2649 - enacts the Industrial Hemp Pilot Program under the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA). Introduced by Republican Representative Willie Dove in 2018 but died in committee later that same year. Received no action. 2017 Substitute for Senate Bill 155 - eliminates criminal and professional penalties for non-intoxicating cannabinoid medicine. Introduced by Democrat Senator David Haley in 2017 but died in committee the following year. Senate Bill 178 - legalizes limited use of marijuana and authorizes the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) to adopt rules and regulations related thereto. Introduced by Democrat Senator David Haley in 2017 but later died in committee in 2017. Received no action. Senate Bill 187 - enacts the Kansas Safe Access Act that would provide for the legal use of cannabis for medical conditions. Introduced in 2017 by the Committee on Public Health and Welfare, later died in committee the following year. Received no action. House Bill 2088 - allows use of certified drug abuse treatment program for certain drug severity level four crimes; removing cannabidiol oil from the definition of marijuana. Introduced in 2017 by the Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice but later died on Senate general orders in 2018. House Bill 2348 - enacts the Kansas Safe Access Act allowing for the use of cannabis for medical conditions. Introduced by the Committee on Health and Human Services in 2017 but later died in committee in 2018. Received no action. 2016 Senate Bill 510 - eliminates criminal and professional penalties for medical marijuana. Introduced by the Committee on Ways and Means in 2016 but died in committee later that same year. Received no action. House Bill 2691 - enacts the Kansas Safe Access Act related to cannabis. Introduced by the Committee on Health and Human Services in 2016 but later died in committee that same year. Received no action. 2015 Senate Bill 9 - enacts the Cannabis Compassion and Care Act. Introduced in 2015 by Democrat Representative David Haley but later died in committee. Received no action. House Bill 2011 - enacts the Cannabis Compassion and Care Act. Introduced by Democrat Representative Gail Finney in 2015 but later died in committee the following year. Received no action. How rare is the Kansas state quarter in your pocket and is it worth more than $0.25? For more Capitol Bureau news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf ...read more read less