Last verified: May 2026
The Full Timeline
Kansas first criminalizes marijuana
A decade before the federal Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. Pre-Marijuana-Tax-Act state-level prohibition motivated heavily by xenophobic concerns about Mexican migrant labor.
Wichita Question 1 passes 54-46
Wichita Marijuana Reform Initiative reduces first-offense possession to $50 fine within city limits.
KS Supreme Court strikes Wichita Question 1
AG Derek Schmidt’s suit successful on procedural/preemption grounds.
HB 2049 signed (defelonization)
Reduces first-offense from Class A to Class B misdemeanor (max 1 yr → 6 months) + reclassifies second-offense from felony to Class A.
Wichita Council adopts $50 presumptive penalty
After Question 1 strike-down, council passes watered-down replacement creating $50 + court costs city-court framework.
SB 282 (zero-THC CBD)
Gov. Jeff Colyer signs. Removes zero-THC CBD products from criminal definition of marijuana.
Lawrence Loophole — $1 fine
Lawrence City Commission lowers fine to $1 for first AND second offenses (Mayor Lisa Larsen, VM Jennifer Ananda). Defendants must be 21+.
SB 28 / "Claire and Lola’s Law" signed
Gov. Laura Kelly signs. Affirmative defense for CBD oil ≤5% THC for severe seizure disorders. Named for Claire (d. Dec 2018) and Lola Hartley.
Douglas County DA Charles Branson declines simple possession
In tandem with Lawrence Loophole. Lawrence becomes the only KS jurisdiction where simple possession is neither city-prosecuted nor county-prosecuted.
KS House passes HB 2184 medical bill 79-42
High-water mark. First-ever floor vote on medical cannabis. Sponsor Rep. Blake Carpenter (R-Derby). Senate kills it without a floor vote.
Wichita Council 5-2 repeals city marijuana ordinance
Mayor Brandon Whipple champions. ~750–850 city possession cases per year eliminated. Sedgwick County DA Marc Bennett retains state-court charging option.
KS Senate F&S Affairs tables SB 135
Chair Sen. Mike Thompson (R-Shawnee) declares "bigger fish to fry." Sen. Rob Olson (R-Olathe) had been removed from chair role earlier.
SB 555 "pilot program" tabled
Masterson-friendly compromise (4 vertically-integrated operators, no smoking/vaping/edibles). Tabled in Federal and State Affairs late March.
Sen. Olson motion to pull SB 135 fails 12-of-24-needed
Of the 12 supporting, 10 were Democrats and 2 retiring Republicans.
KCK Mayor Tyrone Garner launches diversion program
KCK’s first Black mayor (term ended Dec 2025). "We can’t decriminalize it here at the local level, but what we can do is educate."
SB 294, SB 295, HB 2405 all DEAD — no hearings
Thompson refuses to grant hearings. SB 294 = medical cannabis act. SB 295 = decrim. HB 2405 = adult-use.
Senate Pres. Ty Masterson launches 2026 governor campaign
"Tangling with Laura Kelly these last few years has taught me I can only do so much from the position I’m in."
AG Kobach + KBI Mattivi raid 15 hemp/CBD shops
Coordinated "marijuana enforcement operation" across 8 cities: Wichita, Topeka, Salina, McPherson, Pratt, Concordia, Independence, Abilene. ~$35K+ in inventory + cash seized announced.
⚠︐ PL 119-37 federal hemp redefinition
President Trump signs Section 781. Total-THC standard ≤0.3% inclusive of THCA + 0.4 mg per container cap. Effective Nov 12, 2026. U.S. Hemp Roundtable estimates ~$28B sector affected.
Hanging Leaf (McPherson) files for injunction
Former U.S. Attorney for KS Barry Grissom represents.
HB 2678 + HB 2679 DEAD — no hearings
Rep. Ford Carr (D-Wichita) + 28 / 19 Democratic co-sponsors. Both die without hearings; session adjourns April 11, 2026.
Indy Vapes / Abilene Vape file federal 4th Am suit
Federal court suit against Kobach + Mattivi + KBI agents alleging defective warrants + cameras unplugged.
⚠︐ Trump admin federal Schedule III order
Acting AG Todd Blanche signs. Does NOT affect Kansas (state-Schedule-I under K.S.A. § 65-4105). Kobach + Mattivi: "rescheduling is not legalization."
⚠︐ KS gubernatorial election
Ty Masterson is leading Republican candidate. Gov. Kelly term-limited.
⚠︐ Federal hemp redefinition cliff
PL 119-37 Section 781 takes effect. Most current hemp-derived intoxicants federally unlawful unless Congress repeals/extends.
2018: SB 282 (Zero-THC CBD Carve-Out)
Signed by Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer in May 2018. Removed CBD products containing zero percent THC from the state’s criminal definition of marijuana. Kansas’s first sliver of cannabis reform.
2019: SB 28 (Claire and Lola’s Law)
Signed by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. Created an affirmative defense in court for possession of CBD oil with up to 5% THC, named for Claire and Lola Hartley, two Kansas children with severe seizure disorders. See Claire and Lola’s Law page.
2021: HB 2184 — The High-Water Mark
Sponsored by Rep. Blake Carpenter (R-Derby), HB 2184 ("Kansas Medical Marijuana Regulation Act") passed the Kansas House on a historic 79–42 floor vote on May 6, 2021 — the first time the Kansas House had ever given medical cannabis a floor vote. The bill would have created a regulated framework for cultivation, processing, distribution, and sale of medical cannabis as edibles, oils, and patches (smoking and vaping prohibited) for patients with chronic conditions verified by a physician. It died in the Senate without a floor vote.
2022: SB 158
Senate version of medical marijuana legislation. Heard in committee but never released for floor consideration.
2023: SB 135 — Tabled
Introduced in the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee. Two days of hearings in March 2023. Then-Chair Sen. Mike Thompson (R-Shawnee) tabled the bill, declaring the panel had "bigger fish to fry." Senate President Masterson had earlier removed Sen. Rob Olson (R-Olathe), who had championed medical cannabis as the previous Federal and State Affairs Chair, in what Olson alleged was retaliation.
2024: SB 555 — The "Pilot Program"
A Masterson-friendly compromise approach: a five-year, vertically integrated pilot run by no more than four state-contracted "medical cannabis operators" through pharmacy-style distribution hubs, with Wichita State University in charge of testing. Smoking, vaping, and edibles would have been prohibited; only flower, pills, patches, and ointments would have been allowed.
Proponents (Kansas Cannabis Coalition, Kansas Cannabis Industry Association) called the four-operator cap a monopoly. Opponents (Kansas Bureau of Investigation Director Tony Mattivi, the Kansas Sheriffs Association, the Kansas Medical Society) called it a Trojan horse for full legalization. The Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee tabled SB 555 in late March 2024.
On April 26, 2024, Sen. Olson’s motion to pull SB 135 out of committee for a full Senate vote failed dramatically — only 12 of 24 needed senators supported it. Of those 12, ten were Democrats and two were Republicans (both retiring).
2025: SB 294, SB 295, HB 2405 — All Dead
Three bills introduced in March 2025; all died without hearings:
- SB 294 ("Kansas Medical Cannabis Act"), introduced March 7, 2025 in the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee at the request of Norine Spears on behalf of the Kansas Cannabis Coalition, the Cannabis Justice Coalition, and the Kansas Cannabis Chamber of Commerce. DEAD. Chair Mike Thompson never granted it a hearing. Thompson said in February 2025: "We’ve examined medical cannabis for quite some time, and the term medical cannabis is nothing but a marketing ploy."
- SB 295 (decriminalization to a $25 civil infraction for under one ounce of flower, five grams of concentrate, or 1,000 mg of edibles), introduced March 12, 2025. DEAD. No hearing.
- HB 2405 ("Adult Use Cannabis Regulation Act"), introduced March 10, 2025 at the request of Rep. Silas Miller (D-Wichita). DEAD. No hearing.
2026: HB 2678 + HB 2679 — All Dead
Introduced February 4, 2026 by Rep. Ford Carr (D-Wichita):
- HB 2678 (Kansas Medical Cannabis Act) — with 28 Democratic co-sponsors. Provisions for licensure, an excise tax directed to child care, mental health, low-cost housing, and property tax relief, plus expungement of certain cannabis offenses.
- HB 2679 (Adult Use Cannabis Regulation Act) — with 19 Democratic co-sponsors. Authorizing cultivation, manufacturing, possession, and sales for adults 21+.
Both bills were referred to the House Federal and State Affairs Committee. Neither received a hearing. Both DEAD as of session adjournment on April 11, 2026. Carr told KSNT shortly after introduction: "Honestly what it’s going to take is for our midterm elections to remove some of those in the Republican party and replace those with Democrats who feel differently about cannabis. The Republican party is our hold up. That’s the obstacle."
The Pattern
The Kansas medical-cannabis legislative pattern across nine years (2018–2026) is consistent:
- A bill is filed (typically by a Democrat or moderate Republican).
- House gives a floor vote in some sessions; passes in 2021.
- Senate buries it in Federal and State Affairs Committee.
- Chair (Thompson, after Masterson removed Olson) declines to hold a hearing or tables the bill.
- Motions to discharge fail by 12-of-24 needed margins.
- Session adjourns; bill dies.
- Repeat next session.
The 2026 election cycle — with Senate President Masterson running for governor — is the most likely structural inflection point in this pattern. A Masterson governorship would entrench the chokepoint; a Democratic gubernatorial win plus changes to Senate leadership could open the path. See 2026 Election Watch page.
For in-depth cannabis education, dosing guides, safety information, and research summaries, visit our partner site TryCannabis.org
Related on this site: Why Kansas Has No Medical Cannabis Pr..., Send a Message, Contact CannabisKansas.org.