Kansas one of 10 states with no medical cannabis program, could provide relief to hundreds of thousands of Kansas patients.
Senate Bill 135 was introduced in the Kansas Legislature that, if approved, would launch a pilot medical cannabis program allowing patients diagnosed with at least one of 16 covered medical conditions to seek relief through their primary care physician.
Hundreds of thousands of Kansans suffer from these medical conditions, with often no treatment option other than prescription narcotics. Kansas is one of 10 states that does not currently have a medical cannabis program.
“This bill is the culmination of a thoughtful and collaborative process by legislators and industry experts to ensure that Kansas legalizes medical cannabis the right way to enact the nation’s most conservative and safe program,” said Sam Jones, Chief Operating Officer of Kansas Natural Remedies.
Kansas Natural Remedies is the state’s largest indoor hemp producer whose expertise in the industry was sought to create this bottom-up bill.
“This bill was written to comprehensively address the concerns legislators had with previous bills,” said Jones, “and to ensure that Kansas has the most conservative and controlled medical cannabis program in the nation.”
For instance, restricting the product types such as gummies & edibles, and restricting how it is distributed are big differences from other states. One key to eliminating the issues that plagued Oklahoma was to ensure that licensees are sophisticated operators capable of complying with regulations, and implementing a program that requires a close relationship between regulators and operators. This professional and clinical approach ensures that Kansas implements a safe medical cannabis program that avoids the issues plaguing other states’ medical cannabis programs.
Many Kansans are crossing into adjacent states like Colorado and Missouri to obtain relief through medical cannabis. However, it is not legal to cross back into Kansas with cannabis products. Furthermore, Oklahoma has become the primary supplier of unregulated black market cannabis products in Kansas.
The bill does not allow many forms of consumption, such as gummies, smoking or vaping. Medicine is not administered in these forms, and this medical program avoids the safety issues to health, children and pets often linked to these forms of ingestion. Prescribed products under this program are limited to tinctures, pills/tablets, flower, ointments, and patches. A tincture is a concentrated liquid that you consume by placing the measured dosage drops in your mouth. All forms of delivery will be in tamper-proof, child-resistant packaging.
Medical cannabis is of special concern to military veterans, as reported by the American Legion1, an advocate of medical cannabis nationally. In an independent survey of its members, 82% support legalizing medical cannabis. According to the report, 60 percent of veterans returning from combat deployments and 50 percent of older veterans suffer from chronic pain.
Medical cannabis has been shown to be effective for pain relief, helpful in stopping vomiting2 during chemotherapy, relieving stiffness associated with multiple sclerosis, alleviating clinically diagnosed anxiety, and alleviating symptoms of PTSD including insomnia. The drugs currently prescribed in Kansas to treat some of these illnesses include prescription opioids and sleeping pills, which carry significant side effects including overdose and death. Medical cannabis is, in many ways, a safer alternative to these prescription drugs, and Kansans should be given the medical freedom to choose these products instead of opioids and other narcotics.
Medical cannabis plugs an existing gap in pain relief options that reduces opioid prescriptions. According to a 2019 report from the Kansas Health Institute3, some studies suggest that medical cannabis augments the analgesic effects of opioids, thereby allowing for a lower dose of opioids. Other studies found that states with operational networks of medical cannabis may experience a greater decrease in opioid prescribing than states without these networks.
Medical cannabis is a relatively benign alternative treatment compared to many commonly prescribed drugs for which the side-effects are often worse than the symptoms they are treating.
Another key feature of the bill is that pharmacies will be the sole distributor of medical cannabis to patients. Other states’ medical cannabis programs typically distribute cannabis to patients through dispensaries, which lends these supposedly medical programs the appearance of recreational use.
“It is very important that physician-ordered medication goes through a pharmacist,” said Jared Holroyd, executive director of the Kansas Pharmacists Association. “Receiving medication through a pharmacist, versus a dispensary such as in other states, gives patients a needed level of confidence in the prescription with expert answers to their questions.”
He continued, “If Kansas is to pass a true medical cannabis bill, it only makes sense that licensed pharmacists dispense to the public based on a physician’s order, as is the case with nearly all other medications. This bill does that while also not opening the door to the recreational industry, and we are therefore supportive of our inclusion in the legislation.
Jones said the bill would also provide benefits to Kansas from taxation and newly created economic activity.
“Kansas will retain taxes that are now being levied by other states from Kansans who cross the border for their purchases,” Jones said. “New jobs will be broadly created as a new industry is created in the state, including for businesses that service this new industry. Businesses such as accountants, contractors, attorneys, laboratories and even universities will all experience the economic benefit of a medical cannabis program in Kansas.”
1. https://www.legion.org/veteranshealthcare/239814/survey-shows-veteran-households-support-r esearch-medical-cannabis
2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK425767/
3 Kansas Health Institute, Medical Marijuana Health Impact Assessment Update, April 2019

From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu

Headlines

Distinguished professor to share future of developing tiered systems to meet K-12 students’ multiple needs

LAWRENCE — Kathleen Lynne Lane has co-written 14 books and published 242 journal articles and 56 book chapters on how to prevent and respond to learning, behavioral, and social and emotional well-being challenges. Much of the University of Kansas researcher’s work focuses on systematic screening within school-based tiered systems. Lane, Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor of Special Education, will present her inaugural distinguished professor lecture at 5:30 p.m. April 3.

KU centers to host conference: When Global East Meets Global South

LAWRENCE — Members of the University of Kansas community and the public are invited to an interdisciplinary East-Asian and Latin America conference that will bring together scholars from a variety of fields to explore the historical and contemporary links between the regions. The When Global East Meets Global South hybrid conference will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 29. Topics will include trends in and outlook for Latin America’s relationship with China and other Asian partners.

Full stories below.

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Contact: Elizabeth Barton, Office of Faculty Affairs, [email protected], @kufacaffairs

Distinguished professor to share future of developing tiered systems to meet K-12 students’ multiple needs

LAWRENCE — A top scholar in special education, Kathleen Lynne Lane has co-written 14 books and published 242 journal articles and 56 book chapters on how to prevent and respond to learning, behavioral, and social and emotional well-being challenges. Much of the University of Kansas researcher’s work focuses on systematic screening within school-based tiered systems.

Lane, Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor of Special Education, will present “Wouldn’t It Be Great If … Systematic Screening in Comprehensive, Integrated, Three-tiered (Ci3T) Models of Prevention” at her inaugural distinguished professor lecture at 5:30 p.m. April 3 in the Malott Room of the Kansas Union.

Individuals can register to attend the lecture, and a recording will be posted on the Office of Faculty Affairs website.

Lane will provide a look back at the research on three-tiered models of prevention and share her team’s work in progress aimed at building the capacity of school leaders and educators as they strive to support students’ multiple needs. She will provide an overview of Ci3T, illustrating how systematic screening data are used by educators to shape instructional experiences with the goal of creating positive, productive learning environments.

“It has been such a gift to collaborate with such amazing pre-K-12, school-based educators from coast to coast across the United States to determine how best to meet students’ multiple needs in a way that also prioritizes educators’ well-being,” Lane said. “It continues to be an honor for our Ci3T research team to collaborate with such talented educators, families and students to learn more about ‘what works’ over the course of several research grants funded by the Institute of Education Sciences and managed by the Life Span Institute during my time at the University of Kansas.”

The mission of Lane’s research is to examine how educational leaders design, implement and evaluate Ci3T models of prevention in pre-K-12 schools with the intention of preventing challenges to the development of students’ learning, behavior, and social and emotional well-being and responding to existing instances, with an emphasis on systematic screening.

Lane is principal investigator for several grants funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, which currently include Project Enhance (Network), Project SCREEN (Measurement) and Project Engage (Pandemic Impact). Lane is also a co-editor of Remedial and Special Education, and co-leader of the Productive Scholars Writing Group, designed to support other scholars in establishing their own programmatic lines of inquiry.

Additionally, Lane serves KU as an associate vice chancellor for research. In her administrative role, she provides support to four of KU’s designated research centers and serves as the institutional official for human subjects research.

“I am humbled to be a Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor at the University of Kansas,” Lane said. “I am deeply thankful to our Ci3T research team, our district partners, the Life Span Institute and the KU community as a whole. I am beyond grateful to work with people I admire and respect so deeply. I am also thankful to my family: Craig, Nathan, Katie and Ben for their support, kindness and grace.”

The first distinguished professorships were established at KU in 1958. A university distinguished professorship is awarded wholly based on merit, following exacting criteria. A complete list is available on the Distinguished Professor website.

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Don’t miss new episodes of “When Experts Attack!,”

a KU News Service podcast hosted by Kansas Public Radio.

https://kansaspublicradio.org/podcast/when-experts-attack

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Contact: LaGretia Copp, Center for East Asian Studies, 785-864-0307, [email protected], @KUEastAsia

KU centers to host conference: When Global East Meets Global South

LAWRENCE — Members of the University of Kansas community and the public are invited to an interdisciplinary East-Asian and Latin America conference that will bring together scholars from a variety of fields to explore the historical and contemporary links between the regions.

The When Global East Meets Global South hybrid conference, organized by the centers for East Asian Studies, Global & International Studies and Latin American & Caribbean Studies, will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 29. Attendees can attend on Zoom or in person at Watson Library.

Luciano Tosta, director of the Center for Global & International Studies, said research on the growing connections between these two regions is essential.

“This conference will bring together scholars from 10 countries to study the important relationship between these two parts of the world from an interdisciplinary perspective,” Tosta said. “As an organizer of this conference, the Center for Global & International Studies fulfills its role as a catalyst for interdisciplinary comparative studies at KU and works to keep various parts of the globe in dialogue.”

It also highlights the importance of co-organizers the Center for East Asian Studies and Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies as national resource centers at KU and brings their regional expertise to the forefront.

The first keynote speaker Junyoung Verónica Kim, assistant professor of visual culture and media at the University of Pittsburgh, will examine alternative conceptual frames through which scholars trace overlooked histories of migration and connections in the Pacific Rim.

The second keynote speaker, R. Evan Ellis, research professor in Latin America studies at the Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, will discuss the latest trends in and outlook for Latin America’s relationship with China and other Asian partners.

Conference panel topics include political models, historical connections, economic engagement, representation in film and media, and perspectives on migration.

Additional information and registration are available on the conference website.

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KU News Service

1450 Jayhawk Blvd.

Lawrence KS 66045

Phone: 785-864-3256

Fax: 785-864-3339

[email protected]

http://www.news.ku.edu

Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations, [email protected]

Today’s News is a free service from the Office of Public Affairs

From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu

Headlines

Contact: Jackson DeAndrea, Dole Institute of Politics, 785-864-4900, [email protected], @DoleInstitute

Dole Institute announces second half of spring semester programs

LAWRENCE — The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas has announced the second half of its spring 2024 programming lineup, featuring a student-led program on the 2023 Kansas Speaks opinion survey, the annual Easter Egg Roll, the 2024 KU Security Conference keynote address featuring retired U.S. Gen. Philip Breedlove, the annual Dole Lecture and the return of The Counselors program.

Kansas Speaks

This spring’s Student Advisory Board Program, Kansas Speaks: The Crossroads of Policy and Public Opinion, will take place at 7 p.m. March 25. The program features Kansas Speaks Policy Fellow Alexandra Middlewood as well as Kansas State Reps. Christina Haswood and Nick Hoheisel — both of whom are members of the Kansas Future Caucus.

The program will include a discussion on insights from the 2023 Kansas Speaks public opinion survey, which is produced by the Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University. The survey addresses issues such as marijuana legalization, Medicaid expansion, abortion rights, climate change and others. This event will explore crucial topics affecting young people and the wider community in Kansas, combining data-driven insights from the survey with real-world experiences and legislative perspectives. This program is presented by the Dole Institute Student Advisory Board (SAB) and moderated by coordinator Allie Haggar.

Easter Egg Roll with Dole

The Lawrence family-favorite tradition of the Easter Egg Roll with Dole will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 30. Free and open to the public, the event will feature an egg rolling race inspired by the White House Easter Egg Roll, egg hunt, bunny corral, live music, story time, children’s musician, game, crafts and more. The Easter Egg Roll is sponsored by Walmart with special thanks to partners the Lawrence Public Library and the Lied Center of Kansas. For more information, please visit the Dole Institute’s website.

KU Security Conference

On April 10, retired U.S. Gen. Philip Breedlove, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, will open the 2024 KU Security Conference with a keynote address at the Dole Institute of Politics. This address will kick off a two-day conference at KU aimed at bringing together scholars and practitioners from academia, the intelligence community and the military.

This program is presented in partnership with the Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence and the Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies.

Dole Lecture

The annual Dole Lecture will take place at 7 p.m. April 16 and will honor Bill Kurtis, a KU alumnus, journalist, network news anchor, producer and rancher. Kurtis will join Dole Institute Director Audrey Coleman for a discussion of his Kansas roots and the news that shaped the nation over the course of seven decades in journalism.

The Counselors

On April 23, SAB members and Washburn University School of Law students will join attorneys Ed Duckers and Pedro Irigonegaray for The Counselors program. The program, reimagined in 2022 to incorporate student involvement, contains qualities of both a mock trial and a debate — featuring expert witnesses, cross-examination and student-led research.

SAB members Nathan Binshtok, Jaspreet Kaur, Riley Keiter and Matvey Tabakh will join Washburn Law students Caitlin Riffer and Sarah Vargas for the program, which will focus on whether to implement term limits for Supreme Court justices. The program is presented in partnership with the Washburn University School of Law.

Detailed information on programs can be found at the Dole website. All programs will take place in-person at the Dole Institute and be livestreamed on the institute’s website and YouTube channel.

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KU News Service

1450 Jayhawk Blvd.

Lawrence KS 66045

Phone: 785-864-3256

Fax: 785-864-3339

[email protected]

http://www.news.ku.edu

Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations, [email protected]

Today’s News is a free service from the Office of Public Affairs