Account SUBSCRIBER EDITION Thursday, August 25, 2022 Today's eEdition 71°F 89° 69° Coronavirus News Sports Politics Opinion Personal Finance Obituaries HOMEPAGE If Missouri approves recreational marijuana, how will Kansas react to legal weed in KC metro? BY JONATHAN SHORMAN AND KACEN BAYLESS AUGUST 25, 2022 5:00 AM Play VideoDuration 1:50 Commercial cultivator outlines what Missourians could expect if recreational use of marijuana comes to Missouri John Mueller, CEO of Greenlight Dispensary, describes what Missourians could expect if marijuana was legalized for recreational use in the state. BY JILL TOYOSHIBA If Missouri voters approve a recreational marijuana ballot measure in November, dispensaries are anticipating a flood of Kansas customers, eager to purchase legal joints, gummies and other cannabis products. Kansas City will be the epicenter of that border hopping. But the moment Kansas residents take their pot back home, they’ll be breaking the law. The metro area, home to more than 2.3 million people, straddles a state poised to approve recreational marijuana during the Nov. 8 election and another where it remains totally banned. Kansas is one of only 13 remaining states with neither legal medical nor recreational cannabis. Missouri’s current medical marijuana program is restricted to residents of the state, but a proposed amendment to the Missouri Constitution would open sales to adults over 21 regardless of where they live. Kansas residents living along the Missouri border would be able to cross state lines to make a legal purchase without traveling far from home. Western Kansas has been grappling with how to approach legally purchased recreational marijuana since Colorado began allowing sales in 2014. But even though Colorado products have been moving across Kansas highways for years, the sparsely-populated region is a far cry from the dense, urban Kansas City metro area where tens of thousands of people cross state lines every day for work and play. Get unlimited digital access Subscribe now for just $2 for 2 months. CLAIM OFFER The sheer volume of cross-state traffic in the Kansas City metro means legally purchased marijuana would easily flow — illegally — into Kansas. Law enforcement in Kansas will immediately face crucial decisions about how to approach what in their state remains an illegal drug. How tough or lenient law enforcement decides to be may shape how willing some Kansas residents are to partake. Will residents end up fearing a quick trip across the border to buy recreational weed could end in criminal charges if they’re pulled over in a routine traffic stop on their way home? Possession of marijuana in Kansas is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of six months in jail, and a fine of up to $1,000, for a first time offense. “We certainly welcome them here,” Josh Mitchem, CEO of Kansas City-based cannabis manufacturer Clovr, said of out-of-state customers. “Although we know they need to be careful taking this product back to their states.” Kansas law enforcement agencies, for the most part, are hesitant to talk in detail about how they will react if Missouri legalizes recreational marijuana. But a close read of their comments suggests different approaches. Melody Webb, a spokeswoman for Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe, a Republican, said in a statement that since marijuana remains illegal in Kansas, “it is our duty to enforce the law and we will continue to do so.” A spokeswoman for Johnson County Sheriff Calvin Hayden didn’t respond to a request for comment. Meanwhile, the Kansas Highway Patrol indicated it will seek to keep drivers under the influence of marijuana off the road. Unmentioned was any plan to seek out individuals simply transporting legally-purchased marijuana back home. “Our agency is aware that some states have legalized recreational marijuana and that other states are exploring this option as well,” Kansas Highway Patrol Lt. Candice Breshears said in a statement. “Knowing this, the KHP has continued to remain focused on removing impaired drivers from Kansas highways and roadways, all while providing service, courtesy, and protection to the motoring public.” Prairie Village Police Chief Byron Roberson sounded a similar note, predicting Missouri recreational sales may raise the chance of Missouri drivers with marijuana coming into contact with law enforcement on the Kansas side. “I view it the same as we do currently. Marijuana is illegal to consume or possess in Prairie Village,” Roberson wrote in an email. “It is not high on our priority list of offenses to enforce, but, at times (motorists) do make bad decisions and drive in and around PV consuming the drug.” THE COLORADO EXPERIENCE Kansas has nearly a decade of experience with recreational marijuana in a neighboring state, after Colorado voters approved legalization in 2012 and sales began in 2014. Currently, Colorado is the only state bordering Kansas with legal recreational sales. In 2016, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican now running for governor, released a report on the effect of Colorado legalization on Kansas. The report, drawn from a survey of law enforcement agencies and officials, said anecdotal evidence suggested Colorado marijuana was “readily flowing” into Kansas. Schmidt’s office also said at the time that its research found that Colorado legalization had brought more marijuana edibles to Kansas, “a phenomenon rarely encountered here before the Colorado experiment.” A spokesman for Schmidt didn’t respond to questions for this story, including whether the attorney general anticipates similar effects to what the 2016 report found if Missouri approves recreational sales. Ed Klumpp, a former Topeka police chief who now lobbies for several Kansas law enforcement associations, said Colorado sales had contributed “a little bit” to the black market in Kansas from individuals purchasing marijuana legally in Colorado then selling it illegally in Kansas. He also said law enforcement sometimes encounters people who buy marijuana legally in Colorado who mistakenly think they can have it legally in Kansas. “But those are all things we’ve kind of been dealing with along the western border for quite a while and it doesn’t seem to be a huge problem or else we’re getting used to it – one or the other,” Klumpp said. “When it first started happening, it was pretty prolific,” he said. “Then I think as law enforcement engaged more in educating the public, I think they kind of figured it out that yeah, it’s OK to go over there and buy it, it’s OK to use it over there but the laws in Kansas are still the laws in Kansas.” Klumpp acknowledged that western Kansas police and sheriff departments are not prioritizing going after typical consumers who purchase a small amount of marijuana in Colorado and bring it home. “Our target are people who are bringing it back and distributing it,” Klumpp said. But the Kansas Highway Patrol’s approach to traffic from Colorado has drawn sharp condemnation – and a federal lawsuit. In 2020, the ACLU of Kansas sued the Kansas Highway Patrol over a technique colloquially called the “Kansas Two Step,” in which a trooper at the end of a traffic stop takes a couple steps away and then returns to the vehicle to ask more questions. The move is designed to initiate a new, voluntary interaction between the trooper and driver – allowing the trooper to continue probing for incriminating information even if they don’t have reasonable suspicion to continue stopping the vehicle. The ACLU of Kansas says this technique has allowed troopers to scrutinize individuals traveling from Colorado, even though simply coming from a state with legal marijuana sales isn’t a good enough reason to stop a vehicle. The ACLU of Kansas is seeking an order blocking troopers from using the “Two Step.” A trial has been scheduled for early February 2023 in Wichita. If the ACLU of Kansas wins, the use of the “Two Step” would likely be prohibited across the entire state, including in the Kansas City metro. Sharon Brett, ACLU of Kansas legal director, said a decision that the technique violates the U.S. Constitution’s prohibitions against unreasonable searches would affect other law enforcement agencies beyond the Kansas Highway Patrol. “Officers in every department need to follow the law and the constitution,” Brett said. But Brett emphasized that even right now, officers aren’t allowed to target individuals simply for crossing state lines. “Someone traveling from a state where marijuana is legal, that fact does not mean much in the reasonable suspicion calculus,” she said. PREVENTING BLACK MARKET SALES Proponents of the Missouri ballot measure say it includes provisions designed to limit legally purchased marijuana from ending up on the black market. The constitutional amendment gives the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services the power to set rules regulating the amount of recreational marijuana a person can purchase at one time as long as the limit is above three ounces. “On your person, traveling around, the department can implement a possession limit not less than three ounces,” said John Payne, campaign manager for Legal Missouri 2022, the primary group supporting the amendment. “The intent there is that you can’t just buy 20 pounds and go into Kansas or Iowa or Kentucky or any other state and sell that on the market.” Mitchem, the Clovr CEO, said he would support purchasing limits because they are intended to prevent the expansion of the black marijuana market. Still, he acknowledged that the limits haven’t been set yet. “Obviously, it’s going to limit sales, but at the same time, any black eye that happens in cannabis from this point moving forward isn’t just a black eye on the person that is arrested or stopped,” Mitchem said. “It’s also a black eye on the group that sells them that much product and black eyes are what we’re trying to avoid.” But whatever Missouri’s limit, no amount of marijuana possession is legal in Kansas. Prairie Village debated decriminalizing marijuana last year, but the idea didn’t advance through the city council. Prairie Village would have been the first municipality in Johnson County to decriminalize. Regardless of whether Missouri voters approve recreational sales, Kansas City has already decriminalized having a small amount of marijuana. Even without decriminalization, as surrounding states legalize marijuana and it becomes more socially acceptable, juries may become more reluctant to convict on low-level charges. Jurors’ opinions on marijuana are changing, said Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson, a Republican. “People seem to be more accepting or tolerant of marijuana use, at least for adults,” Thompson said. MEDICAL MARIJUANA STALLED IN KANSAS The most realistic shot of some form of legal marijuana in Kansas appears to rest with the Legislature. Over the past two years, legislators have been working on a medical cannabis proposal but finished the 2022 session this spring without passing a bill. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly supports medical marijuana and in 2021 proposed using revenue from medical marijuana to pay for Medicaid expansion. The proposal didn’t pass. A proposal passed the Kansas House in 2021 — but stalled in the state Senate — that would have allowed access to cannabis for patients with an approved list of diagnoses, including Alzheimer’s, cancer and Parkinson’s. The doctor writing the prescription would need to have had a relationship with the patient for at least six months. The dispensaries in the state wouldn’t be limited but individual counties could opt out. “I don’t think it will necessarily nudge Kansas to go medical,” April Hatch, a pro-legalization advocate, said of the upcoming Missouri vote. State Sen. Rob Olson, an Olathe Republican helping lead efforts to implement a medical program, all but ruled out recreational marijuana in Kansas any time soon. The Missouri vote wouldn’t change anything for Kansas, he said. “We’ve got people in the body that think we’re doing recreational marijuana and we’ve got people in the public thinking we’re doing that too,” Olson said. “Recreational, home grown, that’s not going to happen in Kansas for the foreseeable future.” RELATED STORIES FROM KANSAS CITY STAR GOVERNMENT & POLITICS ‘I think that thing’s a disaster’: Gov. Parson slams recreational weed question on MO ballot AUGUST 23, 2022 6:18 PM GOVERNMENT & POLITICS Anti-drug advocate sues Missouri secretary of state to block marijuana question from ballot AUGUST 22, 2022 11:44 AM JONATHAN SHORMAN 816-234-4274 Jonathan Shorman is The Kansas City Star’s lead political reporter, covering Kansas and Missouri politics and government. He previously covered the Kansas Statehouse for The Star and Wichita Eagle. He holds a journalism degree from The University of Kansas. 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