Saturday, January 7, 2023

It's hard to enforce the ban on cannabis in Kansas

 Just as markets need social support, bans on markets need social support.  Even in Kansas, apparently, where marijuana remains completely outlawed. (Kansas borders on Colorado and Missouri, where (even) recreational use of marijuana is legal, and on Arkansas, and Oklahoma, where medical use is legal.)

The Guardian has the story:

A dying cancer patient used cannabis to ease pain. His hospital called the police. ‘You’d think they would have shown compassion’: patient’s son decries Kansas police who issued citation as father suffered.  by Lois Beckett

"Hospital staff in Kansas called the police on a man dying of cancer who was using cannabis products to cope with his symptoms, in an incident that has since sparked outrage and renewed calls to rethink the state’s strict cannabis laws.

"The encounter took place in mid-December, when police in the city of Hays say two officers showed up at the cancer patient’s hospital room to issue him a citation for a drug violation. 

...

"Because of the Christmas holiday, the city prosecutor had not seen the email about dismissing the charge until after the police interaction with the cancer patient had already become a viral news story, the police chief said. He said he personally let the patient know on 27 December that the police department was not pursuing the citation and that he would not have to appear in court.

"More than a hundred people have called or emailed the Hays police department, upset about news reports of officers’ interactions with the cancer patient, the chief said. "

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