Statement regarding current Kansas cannabis legislation.

By Former Representative J. Basil Dannebohm

Kansas House of Representatives, 113th District

21 February 2026

Washington, DC

On January 15, 2015, Sen. David Haley (D-Kansas City), Rep. Gail Finney (D-Wichita), and me, a Republican representative from Ellinwood, stood boldly in the Kansas State Capitol rotunda announcing companion bills in the House and Senate aimed at permitting the medicinal use of marijuana.

Though many states, both red and blue alike, have loosened cannabis restrictions, not much has changed in Kansas over the last 11 years.

On Tuesday, February 24th, the Honorable Ford Carr (D-Wichita) called a press conference at the State House in Topeka to discuss current marijuana legislation. I am humbled by Rep. Carr’s kind invitation to be present. His predecessor, of blessed memory, is surely smiling down on his work as he continues the arduous fight for common sense cannabis legislation in Kansas.

Over a decade ago, I stood as the lone Republican supporter of SB 9 and HB 2011 not for personal reasons. Rather, I reached across party lines at the request of a desperate mother in a neighboring district. She introduced me to her seven-year-old son who suffered from Dravet syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy. She told me that her son’s symptoms seemed to be less aggressive when treated with cannabis oil.

In 2026, that young man will celebrate his 18th birthday.

Republican legislators who, like me, made promises to that mother stood mute in the shadows, refusing to go against the party. For my part, I was called to the Speaker’s office and reprimanded, but I wasn’t about to back down. I made a promise, and I planned to keep it – even if it would end up costing me a career in politics.

Since then, numerous others have made more empty promises to that desperate mother and other suffering Kansans who rely on cannabis for medicinal purposes.

On December 18th, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at fast-tracking the reclassification of cannabis. Though many of his fellow Republicans across the country, including state attorneys general and legislators urged him not to reclassify marijuana, he courageously did it anyway.

As a registered Independent since August 2015, I remain staunchly opposed to most of the administration’s policies. However, I recognize good governance when I see it. President Trump’s action on reclassifying cannabis is worthy of commendation.

Thanks to their party’s national figurehead, conservative members of the Kansas Legislature have an opportunity to courageously atone for empty promises made many to desperate Kansans.

Over the years, I’ve voiced my enthusiastic support for Colorado’s legalization, and I was ecstatic when marijuana was on track to become legal in the Commonwealth of Virginia. I’ve learned a lot about marijuana, including the stigmas and misconceptions associated with it. My former colleagues would do well to learn the same. I know all about William Randolph Hearst's “yellow journalism” and Harry Anslinger’s racist fearmongering that led to both its name and its outlaw. But the days of hemp posing a threat to the printing industry and potentially impacting a fat cat oligarch’s bottom line are far behind us.

Dismissing those who support common sense cannabis legislation, urging them to, “go eat some Doritos” is frankly a cop out.

The financial benefits alone speak for themselves.

Genuine proponents of limited government and fiscal responsibility should jump at the opportunity to finally reap the economic, social, and political rewards associated with cannabis.

Several of the individuals vying for their respective parties’ gubernatorial nominations in 2026 were working in the Statehouse when I walked its halls back in 2015. Most of them remain opposed to the legalization of cannabis in any form.

Nevertheless, withholding support for even the most basic marijuana legislation seems archaic and counterproductive in a state desperate for economic diversity. Tech oligarchs will inevitably pad political pockets this election season, hoping to scoop up Kansas farmland for data centers. Though offers presented by Amazon and Meta are enticing at first blush, residents of the Sunflower State would be much better off with cannabis fields dotting the horizon in the long term. Hence, marijuana should be among the many important issues on voters’ minds this year.

While I’m honored to be considered a trailblazer who paid a price, nothing would please me more than to see my former Republican colleagues exhibit the same courage as their Commander-in-Chief by standing alongside Rep. Carr and supporting common sense cannabis legislation. My fervent prayer is that Kansas is not the 50th state to move marijuana forward.