TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers are reviewing a bill that would lessen the state’s penalties for marijuana possession and allow the limited use of marijuana for medical purposes.

The Senate Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee was meeting Wednesday for the first of two days of hearings on the marijuana legislation. The panel was taking testimony from supporters first and hearing from opponents Thursday.

The House approved the bill last year.

The measure would decrease the maximum penalties for first-time, misdemeanor marijuana possession to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine from a year in jail and a $2,500 fine. A second possession conviction would no longer be a felony.

The bill also would allow cannabis to be used in treating seizures and set up a program to research industrial hemp production.

GEARY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Geary County are investigating 3 suspects on drug charges.

During a traffic stop on eastbound Intersate 70 at McDowell Creek Road, three California residents were arrested, according to Junction City Police.

Callie C. Harvey, 30, Latoia L. Thomas, 34, and Devion T. Toy, 31, are being held on suspicion of Possession of Heroin With Intent, Possession of Cocaine With Intent, No Drug Tax Stamp and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

HUTCHINSON— The state has formally charged a Kansas man arrested after a domestic incident just days after he held police at bay for nearly six-hours on Christmas Eve.

Charles Mendenhall III, 34, Hutchinson, was arrested again on Jan.10, and now faces charges of aggravated battery, aggravated burglary, interference with law enforcement, violation of a protection from abuse order, criminal restraints and battery of a Hutchinson Police Officer.

The most recent case comes after he allegedly broke a window to enter a home at 707 Pierce in Hutchinson and attacked the woman resident.

She attempted to leave the home, but he then pulled her back inside and pinned her to the floor. Police came and he struggled with them to the point he had to be tased and was finally taken into custody.

Mendenhall is already facing a charge of kidnapping, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, criminal discharge of a firearm and criminal threat and two counts of aggravated endangerment of a child for the incident on Christmas Eve at that same home.

He’s jailed on a $100,000 bond and the most recent case will also be placed on a future waiver-status docket.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The head of the Kansas Department for Children and Families is defending the agency’s efforts to ensure the safety of children in the foster care system.

The Wichita Eagle  reports that agency Secretary Phyllis Gilmore spoke Tuesday to the House Committee on Children & Seniors. The appearance came less than a week after another committee approved an audit of the agency.

Gilmore called the state’s foster care system one of the safest in the nation.

A November report showed five children died in the foster care system during the 2015 fiscal year, which ended in June. Only one death was attributed to maltreatment. Other reasons for fatalities included illness and car accidents.

CHASE COUNTY – A woman died in an accident just after 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday in Chase County.

The Kansas Turnpike Authority reported a 2010 Buick Lucerne driven by Kristina Marie Masters, 36, Ankeny, IA., was southbound on Interstate 35 near Matfield Green Service area.

The driver lost control on the icy road. The vehicle went into a rear wheel skid, rotated clockwise, traveled onto the right shoulder and struck the rear of a truck that was legally parked and assisting another driver.

Masters was transported to a hospital where she died. She was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — An Oklahoma Indian tribe has filed a federal lawsuit against Kansas in the dispute over casino gambling.

The Quapaw tribe alleges the state has failed to negotiate in good faith over proposed gambling on tribal land in Cherokee County. The lawsuit contends early discussions were cooperative, but those talks stalled when the state wanted to develop a state-owned casino in the area.

The tribe’s chairman, John Berrey, said in an emailed statement it has to stand up for the rights of Indian tribes.

Neither the governor’s office, nor the attorney general’s office immediately responded to a request for comment.

A federal judge last month dismissed a separate lawsuit filed by Kansas seeking to prevent the tribe’s Oklahoma casino from expanding into Kansas. The state has appealed that decision.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback’s office is defending a budget proposal that a child advocate says would make it easier for Kansas to siphon money from early childhood education.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Brownback unveiled last week a state budget that would shift the entire Children’s Initiatives Fund to the State General Fund in fiscal year 2017.

The governor’s office says the move is meant to increase accountability and consolidate early childhood programs within the Kansas State Department of Education, which education commissioner Randy Watson says sought the change to better coordinate initiatives.

Shannon Cotsoradis, CEO of Kansas Action for Children, said she does not see how the move leads to better coordination.

The governor’s spokeswoman, Eileen Hawley, said existing childhood programs funded by the Children’s Initiatives Fund will be continued to be fully funded.