Blunt talk: Democrats push for cannabis legalization

A small group of advocates is loudly and emphatically pushing for the legalization of cannabis in Kansas, noting Missouri, Colorado and Oklahoma have legalized marijuana in recent years, and Nebraska is about to as well.

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June 29, 2023 - 2:17 PM

Ron Burris, right, speaks Tuesday about his health issues, which he said would be lessened if he were allowed to use cannabis. Listening to Burris speak at left is former federal prosecutor Barry Grissom. Photo by Richard Luken / Iola Register

Barry Grissom and Melinda Lavon have become two of the most vocal proponents of legalized cannabis in Kansas.

But the most powerful — and blunt — opinions at a gathering Tuesday evening of Allen County Democrats came from local veteran Ronald Burris, who is fighting cancer.

His pancreatic cancer has spread to his liver, the most pressing issue.

“It’s kicking my ass,” said Burris, who told the group he had six months to live.

Doctors “have loaded me up with drugs that don’t do a thing,” he noted.

One elixir, however, has provided more relief than others — marijuana.

“I could get a little weed and settle this down,” Burris said.

But with marijuana illegal, Burris is leery of running afoul of the law, and potentially losing his VA benefits.

“All my doctors support this,” he said of using marijuana. “The VA guys, they support it.”

But without any meaningful action from state lawmakers, that support means little, Burris said.

Burris, who lived in Iola most of his life before recently moving to Colony, was only half-joking when he said he may move across state lines, say to Missouri or Oklahoma, where cannabis is legal.

His dream is to see cannabis legalized in Kansas before he dies. “But I’m gonna be dead by the end of the year.”

There may be cause for some optimism.

Lavon, chairwoman of the Democratic party in Douglas County, predicts Kansas legislators may take up a medical marijuana bill in 2024 — provided enough Kansans speak out for it.

Grissom said Burris’s tale is one he’s heard often.

“When people like you need it, just to get some quality of life back, I just can’t understand the desire to keep it illegal,” Grissom said.

IF GRISSOM’S name sounds familiar, it’s because from 2010 to 2016 he was the state’s chief federal law enforcement officer as a U.S. attorney.

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