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As Kansas remains one of a dozen states without legal medical or recreational marijuana, Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids and a Republican seeking to replace her, Prasanth Reddy, both say the federal government should provide states with wide latitude to set their own rules on cannabis.
Davids represents the 3rd Congressional District, which includes Johnson County and a swath of rural area southwest of the Kansas City metro. The district borders Missouri, where medical marijuana was legalized in 2018 and recreational sales began last year.
Third District residents can easily legally purchase pot by stepping across the state line but can’t legally bring it back to Kansas.
The candidates’ separate but similar positions may avoid alienating either side of the long-running debate over the drug by supporting the power of Kansas to make its own decisions while not calling for nationwide legalization. Their stances frame the possibility of legal marijuana in Kansas as ultimately a state, not federal, decision.
Another Republican candidate, Karen Crnkovich, maintains it’s premature for Congress to act because of a lack of a consistent method for measuring impairment from marijuana. She also opposes the Drug Enforcement Administration’s plan to reclassify marijuana as a less-dangerous drug.
States have been legalizing marijuana for more than a decade in defiance of federal law. The federal government has mostly tolerated this arrangement, but a future president or Congress staunchly opposed to the drug could ratchet up enforcement.
Even as most states move forward with some form of legal marijuana, the Kansas Legislature is gridlocked. While the state House passed a limited medical marijuana measure in 2021, the idea has repeatedly stalled in the state Senate. An extremely restrictive medical program proposed earlier this year didn’t receive a vote.
Action by state lawmakers is still the fastest, surest path to legal marijuana in Kansas. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has called for medical marijuana in the past.
But this fall’s elections, with the presidency and control of Congress on the line, may create fresh opportunities for change at the federal level. Any loosening of federal restrictions on marijuana would create additional pressure on Kansas to respond.
“Rep. Davids believes states should be able to regulate marijuana use as they see fit, understanding the potential for increased tax revenue and job creation that could follow decriminalization,” Zac Donley, a campaign spokesperson for the three-term congresswoman, said in a statement.
“She supports the proposed reclassification, which could make it easier for researchers to study the effects of marijuana use and for patients to access it for medical purposes.”
Davids has voted for the SAFER Banking Act, which would clear the way for state-sanctioned marijuana businesses to bank more normally. Banks and other financial institutions typically refuse to work with marijuana businesses because of concerns of running afoul of federal law, which bans the drug.
The inability to access banking services forces businesses to operate with large amounts of cash, creating logistical hurdles and security concerns. Trucks transporting cash to and from marijuana businesses are sometimes stopped by law enforcement; DEA agents with local law enforcement seized $165,620 during one stop in 2021 along Interstate 70 near Abilene.
Reddy, a former executive at Labcorp in enterprise oncology and a physician, signaled interest in congressional action related to financial services. In a statement, he voiced support for the medical use of THC – the psychoactive compound in marijuana that produces a high – while also saying states should be empowered to set their own policies.
“As a cancer physician, I have been a strong proponent for controlled medical THC use. In the right setting and conditions, it has strong efficacy for nausea control, appetite stimulation and pain,” Reddy said, adding that he has prescribed Marinol, a THC-based drug, “many times with great effect.”
“In Congress, I would be interested in joining efforts that reduce the risk of crime and provide for clarity among law enforcement officers and financial institutions,” Reddy said. “I believe the federal government should do what it can to provide flexibility to states and allow them to make their own decisions, rather than broad national policy on marijuana and its use.”
Crnkovich, who owns a heating and cooling business, said in an interview her business experience affects how she views the issue. She said when Missouri legalized marijuana, she changed how she drug tests employees and prospective employees – moving from a urine test that can detect consumption up to a month afterward to a cheek swab with a roughly 48-hour window.
Marijuana businesses in areas that have legalized should have access to banking services, she said. But she opposes the DEA’s decision to move marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance – reserved for the most dangerous drugs, like heroin – to Schedule III, which would recognize medical uses.
Crnkovich emphasized that no test currently exists to easily measure someone’s THC level in real time – similar to a breathalyzer for alcohol – and no agreed-upon standard of impairment. Congress should refrain from taking action, she said, until those are developed.
“I think any other steps either way are kind of foolish,” Crnkovich said.
She said the DEA made “a huge mistake by wanting to declassify from I to III.”
“Because people are like, well, it’s no big deal, it’s pot. And I’m like you know what we’re not talking about are the unintended consequences of this decision,” she said.
Survey shows support for legalization
Republican voters will choose between Reddy and Crnkovich in the Aug. 6 primary election. Whoever wins will face Davids in November.
Kansas Republicans don’t appear to have a formal position on marijuana. The Kansas Republican Party platform, posted on the party’s website, is silent on marijuana . The national Republican Party’s platform includes no reference to marijuana.
In Congress, the House Republican Policy Committee, a sometimes-influential group of GOP lawmakers, opposes measures like the SAFER Banking Act, which would “allow banks to knowingly accept drug money.” It advocates labeling marijuana a gateway drug and says Congress should work to ensure the enforcement of drug laws.
The Kansas Democratic Party platform supports the legalization of marijuana.
The 2023 Kansas Speaks Survey , conducted by researchers at Fort Hays State University, found 67% support for legalizing recreational marijuana among adults 21 and older to allow taxation of the activity. Just under 17% opposed legalization.
Proponents of legalization in Kansas often point to the potential for new revenue from regulating and taxing marijuana. For instance, Missouri has collected about $370 million in sales tax revenue on $2.5 billion in total sales since marijuana was first legally sold in 2020, according to the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association.
“I would hope to think the candidates – whether Democrats or Republican – that this is something they can look at from a data-driven standpoint,” said Barry Grissom, a former federal prosecutor and past Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate who is now a vocal advocate for legalization.
State lawmakers in Kansas haven’t written off the issue for the 2025 session. Legislative leaders have approved an interim committee to further study medical marijuana this summer and fall. Interim committees sometimes – but not always – lead to legislative action the following year.
State Sen. Michael Fagg, an El Dorado Republican expected to lead the panel, said understanding the consequences of future congressional action on marijuana would likely be part of the conversation on the committee.
“If the federal government does it, does that mean we just don’t do anything?” Fagg asked. “I don’t know.”
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