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3 Things To Know About The State Of Cannabis In Kansas

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By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN

This winter we reported that Kansas is one of just four stateswith the strictest cannabis laws in the country.

Some farmers can now look at the possiblity of growing hemp — good for industrial use, no good for getting high — after changes made in Kansas law.
FILE PHOTO / HARVEST PUBLIC MEDIA

But the 2018 legislative session that ended earlier this month shook the state’s legal landscape. So what has changed and what hasn’t?

CBD is now legal

Quick recap: Cannabidiol, or CBD, is one of the compounds in the cannabis plant that doesn’t get people high, and that advocates say has medical benefits. Some studies have found it helps people suffering from seizures.

Shops in Kansas were certainly selling it and people were buying, but both were technically crimes because whether they get you high or not, CBD products counted as marijuana under Kansas law.

        What do we and don’t we know about the medical effects of marijuana and related products? Here’s a handy review from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine

So this year — after years of pleas from the family members of people suffering seizures — lawmakers tweaked the law.

CBD is now legal after Gov. Jeff Colyer signed legislation Monday. And unlike some states — Missouri, for instance, legalized it with tight limits on either who can sell it or who can buy it — Kansas opted for broad access.

Hemp is back

Growing this crop used to be legal and common. In 2014, the federal government began allowing it again in limited circumstances. Hemp is in a bunch of products — fabrics, foods, building materials, you name it — but right now the U.S. mostly imports from places like Canada and China.

Hemp comes from the same plant species as marijuana, just a different variety with taller stalks (to maximize fiber yield) than the one people use to get high.

Kansas is taking the federal government up on its offer to allow regulated pilot programs for growing, researching and selling hemp. The state agriculture department is working on finding farmers and setting up that program.

Want more background on hemp and other products? Read our primer

Among the questions they’ll be exploring are which hemp seeds best suit Kansas growing conditions and how drought-tolerant they are.

Marijuana is still a no-no

So here’s a good rule of thumb now for cannabis-related products in Kansas: if it gets you high, it’s definitely illegal.

At least 30 states let people use marijuana. In most of them, you need a doctor’s prescription.

Kansas advocates of medical marijuana continue to push for that, but neither their House bill nor Senate bill got a hearing this year.

Celia Llopis-Jepsen is a reporter for the Kansas News Service. You can reach her on Twitter @Celia_LJ.

Partly sunny, mild Sunday

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Today
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 67. North northwest wind 7 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.

Tonight
Partly cloudy, with a low around 51. Northeast wind 5 to 7 mph.

Monday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. South southeast wind 7 to 14 mph.

Monday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 61. South southeast wind 9 to 13 mph.

Tuesday
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. South wind 9 to 15 mph.

Tuesday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63.

Wednesday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 87.

Wednesday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 65.

Thursday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 89.

Woman from Hays hospitalized after rear-end crash

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RENO COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just before 6p.m. Saturday in Reno County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2017 Kenworth semi driven by Corey A. Levesque, 24, Eldora, IA, was northbound on Kansas 61 at Riverton.

The semi rear-ended a 2007 Jeep Wrangler driven by Kelsey Jane Schowengerdt, 29, Hays, who was slowing down to make a left turn.

Schowengerdt was transported to the hospital in Hutchinson.

Levesque was not injured. Both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

KHP: 2 hospitalized after RV camper overturns on I-70

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THOMAS COUNTY — Two people were injured in an accident just before 2p.m. Saturday in Thomas County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2011 Chevy pickup towing a high-profile RV camper trailer and driven by Christine Ramseyer, 61, Drummond, OK., was eastbound on Interstate 70 just west of County Road K.

The trailer began to fish-tail due to the wind. It jack-knifed and overturned in the median.

Ramseyer and a passenger Lorenz T. Ramseyer, 57, Drummond, OK., were transported to the hospital in Colby.

Both were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

Kansas Commerce announces key leadership changes

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KDC

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Commerce announces Wade Wiebe has been appointed as the agency’s Director of Workforce Innovation. The agency also announces the appointments of Susan NeuPoth Cadoret as Director of Business and Community Development, Kevin Doel as Director of Marketing and Communications, and Sherry Rentfro as Chief Fiscal Officer. 

Wade Wiebe

As Director of Workforce Innovation, Mr. Wiebe will oversee strategic direction and implementation of workforce development solutions such as the agency’s Workforce Aligned with Industry Demand (AID) program, an employer-driven training system that matches the skills needed for a company’s workforce with education providers who deliver the training. He previously served with the Department of Commerce as Manager of the Innovation Growth Program before joining the Kansas Department of Transportation as its Director of Administration. He served in that role for the past six years. He earned a B.S. degree in Business from The University of Kansas.

Susan NeuPoth Cadoret

Ms. NeuPoth Cadoret has been serving as Acting Director of the Business & Community Development Division for over a year before being appointed as the permanent Director. She has served with the Department of Commerce for 19 years, including over six years as the Assistance Manager for the Business and Community Development Division. Prior to working for Commerce, NeuPoth Cadoret worked 15 years in economic development at the local level. She earned a B.A. degree in Communications from Fort Hays State University.

Kevin Doel

Mr. Doel joined the Department of Commerce in 2017 as Director of Communications and has also served as Interim Director of Marketing since January 2018. Before joining Kansas Commerce, he served as Communications Manager for the State Fire Marshal. Previously, he served as Director of Marketing for Brewster Place, Topeka’s largest non-profit senior health and living organization, and owned and operated Talon360, a publicity firm for mobile technology companies, for 15 years. He earned his B.S. degree in Management and Ethics from Dallas Christian College.

Sherry Rentfro

Ms. Rentfro joined Commerce in June of 2014 as Fiscal Analyst and has been serving as the Acting Chief Fiscal Officer since February 2018. Prior to Commerce, she worked for over 10 years managing the accounting and finances of a non-profit association that serves the telecommunications industry in Kansas. She earned a BBA in Finance from Washburn University and MBA from Baker University.

About Kansas Department of Commerce

As the state’s lead economic development agency, the Kansas Department of Commerce strives to empower individuals, businesses and communities to achieve prosperity in Kansas. Under the leadership of Interim Secretary of Commerce Robert North, the department comprises a variety of programs and services that create jobs, attract new investment, provide workforce training, encourage community development and promote the state as a wonderful place to live, work and play. For more information on the Kansas Department of Commerce, visit www.KansasCommerce.gov.

Man sentenced for fatal Kansas drive-by shooting

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 28-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison for a drive-by shooting in Topeka that killed man who had been linked to an earlier fatal shooting.

Timley- photo Shawne Co

Cortez Tyrell Timley must serve at least 25 years in prison before being eligible for parole.

He was convicted in March of first-degree murder in the June 2014 death of 26-year-old Jermel Ramond Robbins Sr.

Investigators say Robbins’ was suspected of being the third man involved in a May 2014 shooting that left Tiffany Davenport-Ray dead. His name surfaced during the trials of two other men, Thomas Earl Brown Jr. and Awnterio Lowery, in July 2016. Brown and Lowery were convicted in Davenport-Ray’s death.

Robbins was killed about three weeks after Davenport-Ray was killed.

Police: Search for missing Kansas boy is ‘challenging’

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say the search for a 5-year-old boy who’s been missing for three months is “very challenging” and are encouraging the public to keep looking and providing tips.

Organizers planned to gather and search again on Sunday, according to the Find Lucas Hernandez Facebook page.

Police discussed the search Thursday, one day after Lucas Hernandez’ stepmother, Emily Glass, was acquitted of child endangerment. Prosecutors alleged she drove her 1-year-old daughter to a restaurant while high on marijuana on Feb. 16. Lucas was reported missing the next day.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett says Glass is a “person of interest” and a witness in Lucas’ disappearance.

Capt. Brent Allred says police are “disappointed” that Lucas hasn’t been found and will follow up on any leads that the public provides. He says police “don’t have any information to follow up on right now.”

90-year-old woman dies in 2-vehicle Kansas crash

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DERBY, Kan. (AP) — Police say a 90-year-old woman has died in a collision between two vehicles near the Wichita suburb of Derby.

The woman was a backseat passenger in a sedan that collided with a small sport utility vehicle Friday evening.

Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Lt. Timothy Myers says the sedan, driven by an 88 year old, turned in front of the SUV.

Authorities had not released the name of the woman killed by midday Saturday.

The driver of the car and an 85-year-old passenger suffered minor injuries.

The 30-year-old driver of the SUV also suffered minor injuries.

Rooks Co. town hit by 3 twisters will dedicate cyclone sculpture

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CODELL, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas town where a tornado struck three straight years is dedicating a steel cyclone sculpture to remember the triple tragedies.

Tobias Flores and Danielle Robinson are faculty members at Fort Hays State University who created a sculpture to commemorate tornadoes that hit Codell, Kansas three consecutive years in a row on the same date-photo courtesy Ron Wilson KSU Research and Extension

The dedication ceremony is planned for Sunday in the tiny town of Codell, which is about 25 miles northeast of Hays. The tornados struck on May 20 of the years 1916, 1917 and 1918.

The first two merely damaged properties outside town. But the third killed 10 people and injured dozens in and around the community of fewer than 100 residents.

Seventy-seven-year-old Codell native Sharolyn Lamb-Gramm says May 20 will always be known as “Cyclone Day.” Two siblings who lived through the three tornadoes plan to attend the ceremony.

Fort Hays State University associate professor Tobias Flores and adjunct professor Danielle Robinson constructed it.

Wheat plot variety tours May 30

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Wheat plot variety tour

WALNUT CREEK EXTENSION

NESS CITY – Walnut Creek Extension District will hold three Wheat Plot Variety Demonstration Tours on Wed., May 30.

Plant Pathologist Erick DeWolf will discuss wheat diseases, while Lucas Haag, Northwest Area Agronomist and Romulo Lollato, K-State Wheat Specialist, will discuss varieties and management.

Kansas Wheat Alliance and local grain elevators will provide refreshments for all three tours.

The May 30 schedule:

  • 8:30 a.m. in Rush County, located west of LaCrosse
  • 1:00 p.m. in Ness County, located south of Ness City
  • 6:00 pm in Lane County, located west of Dighton

For directions and more information, call Chris Long, Walnut Creek Extension Dist. Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Agent at 1-877-798-3921.

Sunflower’s ABC Program completes 17th year, $8K to Hays schools

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This month, schools and students are receiving a total of $99,760 in grants from the ABC Program that supports education in Sunflower Bank and First National 1870’s communities. Since the start of the ABC Program in 2001, Sunflower Bank has given away more than $1,238,000 in support of education. $8,336 of the funds raised this year are being donated to schools and students in Hays.

“It is exciting to bring the possibilities of the ABC Program to all our Sunflower Bank and First National 1870 communities,” said Mollie Carter, Chairman of Sunflower Bank. “We hear every year from schools that the ABC Program provides much needed support to the schools that are helping shape the future of our communities. Sunflower Bank is committed to making an impact on our communities for today, tomorrow, and life. There is no better way to do that than to contribute to the education of our youth. That’s why we continue the ABC Program annually and also emphasize contributing to local educational and financial literacy initiatives everywhere we serve.”

From January 2 through March 31, 2018, new and current bank customers raised money for their K-12 school of choice by opening a Spend & Sign & Save account or swiping their debit card. In addition, the “Pay for A’s” drawing was open to all K-12 students who brought report cards to a local branch, no banking relationship necessary. Five report cards were drawn at each branch, and the student winners receive $10 for every “A” up to $100.

Plans are underway to bring the ABC Program back to Sunflower Bank and First National 1870 for an 18th year. Visit a local branch, SunflowerBank.com or FirstNational1870.com to learn more about the bank’s support for its communities.

Smoky Hills Public Television receives Dane G. Hansen Foundation grant

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SHPTV

BUNKER HILL – The Dane G. Hansen Foundation has awarded Smoky Hills Public Television with a grant for $160,000 to support the station’s general programming and station operations.

The grant funds will specifically support the production of local Kansas programs including Doctors on Call, Real Ag, and Traveling Kansas, as well as, public affairs and high school sports presentations. Educational programs and children’s educational outreach initiatives also benefit from this grant. In addition, these funds help with the equipment necessary to broadcast to northwest Kansas.

This year the foundation gifted an additional $50,000 to assist with a specific equipment replacement need. That amount is included in the $160,000 total.

“The Dane G. Hansen Foundation’s generous support of Smoky Hills Public Television provides funds that are vital to the operation of the station,” said Callie Kolacny, Smoky Hills Public Television Marketing Director. “We greatly appreciate the foundation and the work that it does for Northwest Kansas.”

Smoky Hills Public Television serves 71 counties in central and western Kansas and has been named the Kansas Association of Broadcasters Non-Metro Station of the Year.

The Dane G. Hansen Foundation is committed to providing opportunities for the people of Northwest Kansas to enjoy the highest possible quality of life. The foundation advances its mission by investing in the areas of education, health care, economic development, community social services and security, conservation and environment, arts and culture and community beautification.

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