By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN

Kansas sits in a shrinking pool of states with the strictest marijuana and hemp laws, surrounded by a wave of decriminalization and legalization that’s swept most of the U.S.

So it’s no surprise that the topic of cannabis keeps cropping up in the Kansas Statehouse, where some lawmakers and lobbyists want the Free State to jump on the bandwagon.

That means terms like cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol make their way into bills and debates. Here’s a primer on pot and policy in Kansas and elsewhere.

The marijuana boom

As far as the feds are concerned, marijuana is illegal.

Sure, the Obama administration nudged prosecutors not to go after people who sell it for medical use in states where that’s allowed. And it didn’t step in when states began allowing recreational use, either.

But administrations change. And Trump’s is showing more interest in a showdown between state and federal rules.

There’s potential, at least, for quite a clash. Tallies by the National Conference of State Legislatures show at least 29 states now allow medical marijuana, nine permitrecreational use and some others allow derivative products (more on that below).

Amid that patchwork, Kansas is one of just four states not allowing any of this, for any purposes.

Notably, next-door Colorado was one of two states to lead the charge on recreational use in 2012. It’s reasonable to think some skiers leaving the state on eastbound Interstate 70 might have a little skunk in the trunk. Yet Kansas law enforcement agencies told the attorney general in 2016 that they aren’t seizing more of the drug — but the stuff they find is stronger than before.

Industrial hemp

Hemp and marijuana come from the same plant species, but hemp has so little THC in it that drug users can’t get high from it. THC — tetrahydrocannabinol — is the cannabis chemical that causes that effect.

Since hemp has major industrial potential — it is used in a wide range of foods, fabrics and other products, but right now the U.S. mostly imports it from countries like Canada and China — there’s been a national push to make growing it legal.

That’s true in Kansas, too, where some farmers and other proponents see potentialin an increasingly parched state for a cash crop that doesn’t need much water.

Since 2014, federal law has let state agencies and universities run industrial hemp pilot programs. Nearly 30 states are taking advantage of that.

Kansas hasn’t joined their ranks. Growing hemp remains illegal, with law enforcement agencies leading the opposition to legalization. They say it would make combating marijuana cultivation even harder, and that distinguishing between low and high-THC plants is a potentially costly hassle.

Last year a bill allowing hemp cultivation passed one chamber of the Kansas Legislature. Another push is underway this year.

Cannabidiol, a.k.a. CBD

Like THC, cannabidiol is a compound found in cannabis. So both substances fall under another term that pops up in policy conversations — cannabinoids. But CBD can be isolated and sold with so little THC in it that consumers won’t get high from it.

Some researchers and people who use CBD oil say it helps with seizures and other ailments, and sometimes without side effects related to prescription medications. Others question that. At least 17 states have loosened restrictions on CBD to varying degrees. In Missouri, some people with epilepsy can get it.

But even when CBD is effectively THC-free, CBD oil appears to be illegal in Kansas.

Some local governments had been confused about how to handle shops that sell CBD oil, so late last month the Kansas attorney general weighed in. His office says CBD falls under Kansas’ definition of marijuana.

The American Civil Liberties Union is asking lawmakers to settle the matter. The group says the attorney general’s opinion isn’t binding on law enforcement agencies. So it fears Kansans won’t reliably know their rights. You might buy CBD oil in a county that lets shops sell it, then get arrested when you take it home to another that disagrees.

Kansas passed a law last year that would open the door here somewhat if the federal government approves CBD in medications, but so far the U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn’t done so. The Congressional Research Service says drugs containing CBD are trying to get federal approval.

Cannabis and health

The best overview of what we know — and don’t know — about benefits and dangers of cannabis and its various ingredients comes from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, which led an effort to weigh the quality and conclusions of 10,000 scientific papers.

Turn to pages 13 through 22 here for a handy chart of nearly 100 conclusions. There’s strong evidence, for example, that cannabis helps adults with chronic pain, but there’s little to say whether it helps treat cancers.

Crime and punishment

Though only nine states have made marijuana for recreational use legal, at least 22 have decriminalized it. The National Conference of State Legislatures says that doesn’t necessarily mean there are no penalties in those states, but the price of getting caught is a lot lower.

It remains criminal in Kansas, though the state has taken some steps to lower penalties for cannabis-related crimes amid prison crowding, and is considering more.

In Kansas, getting caught with marijuana for personal use is a misdemeanor the first two times, meaning you could go to prison for up to a year, though probation is a common alternative. If you’re caught a third time, you could go to state prison for 10 to 12 months — longer if you have other criminal background — but, again, could very well get probation instead. Dealing marijuana comes with tougher penalties.

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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A Kansas City man has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder for a fatal crash that killed a Kansas City couple.

The Jackson County prosecutor’s office says 28-year-old Preston Moore has been charged with the murder counts, as well as driving while intoxicated and driving with a revoked license.

Authorities say 29-year-old Laura Humphrey and 31-year-old Ryan Humphrey were in a northbound vehicle on U.S. Highway 71 when a car being driven the wrong way by Moore crashed into them on Nov. 11. The Humphreys were killed. Moore was critically injured.

Prosecutors say an open liquor bottle was found in Moore’s vehicle, and toxicology results showed he was drunk. Moore has a previous DWI conviction.

Prosecutors have requested a bond of $100,000 for Moore.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The company processing Medicaid applications in Kansas faces fines of up to $250,000 a day and the loss of its state contract because it is far out of compliance with the required performance standards.

The state sent Maximus a non-compliance letter Jan. 30 that gives the Virginia-based company until June 1 to fix problems that include only 40 percent accuracy on financial payments. State Medicaid Director Jon Hamdorf disclosed the action during a meeting of a legislative oversight committee Friday.

If the company fails to shape up, it could face fines retroactive to the beginning of the year, possibly totaling tens of millions of dollars.

The oversight committee’s chairman, Republican state Rep. Dan Hawkins, of Wichita, said returning the processing of Medicaid applications to state workers is a serious possibility.

“If they don’t get this fixed, they’re gone,” Hawkins said.

Maximus spokeswoman Lisa Miles said the company immediately instituted a compliance plan and is committed to being in compliance by June 1.

Miles said in a written statement that Maximus is working with the state on improvements to increase efficiency and accuracy and the time it takes to process applications.

The Medicaid program provides health coverage to more than 370,000 poor, disabled and elderly Kansas residents. Maximus operates an application processing clearinghouse that employs about 350 people, including some state workers.

Kansas has experienced problems processing Medicaid applications since then-Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration opened the clearinghouse in 2015. At one time, a backlog of unprocessed applications grew large enough to draw the attention of federal regulators.

Hamdorf said an examination of the company’s performance on a single day — Feb. 7 — showed enough shortfalls that the company would have to pay $250,000 or more in fines for that day alone. The company is required to handle financial payments with 98 percent accuracy and has fallen behind on handling applications and cases, according to the state.

The Medicaid director also described what he called a sense of despair among Maximus employees at the clearinghouse.

“It’s a completely different work environment on our side of the house and their side of the house and I think that’s because we at the state value the employees that work for us,” he told legislators.

Miles said the company makes every effort to ensure employees have a “professional, safe and enjoyable work environment.”

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas Board of Regents member and commissioner for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, has been arrested on suspicion of domestic battery.

50-year-old Ann Brandau-Murguia was arrested Friday evening and booked into the Wyandotte County Detention Center. She was released on her own recognizance a short time later. Brandau-Murguia is the wife of Kansas U.S District Judge Carlos Murguia.

While the booking report indicates Brandau-Murguia committed bodily harm to a family member, Brandau-Murguia said in a statement posted on her professional Facebook page that the incident involved a longtime friend, not a family member.

Brandau-Murguia said in the statement that she and the friend “were involved in a misunderstanding that resulted in an argument and physical contact.”

Brandau-Murguia did not immediately return messages sent Saturday via email and on social media platforms seeking comment.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Firefighters say the body of a man has been found inside a burning Kansas City house.

Television station KMBC reports that firefighters were called around 7 a.m. Saturday for a report of a fire at the boarded-up home in central Kansas City.

Firefighters found the man dead on the second floor of the house.

Officials say there were no smoke detectors inside the home.

Authorities have not released the name of the man or the cause of the fire.

The investigation is continuing.

SHAWNEE COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating an armed robbery and have released security camera images.

By BRIAN GRIMMETT

Zack Pistora of the Kansas Sierra Club was worried about the number of earthquakes in the state and wanted to do something about it.

“Those earthquakes can cause damage to people’s homes, businesses, public buildings,” he said. “Right now there’s no recourse for those Kansans who get affected.”

So Pistora and a few others brought the issue to legislators. The result is several bills aimed at putting stricter regulations on the wells oil and gas producers use to inject wastewater back into the ground. The slate of bills makes changes to the public notice requirements for new wells and would create a fund to help pay for damage caused by the earthquakes tied to drilling.

“If we still have earthquakes caused by the industry,” Pistora said, “ the industry should be accountable for that.”

One of the bills would also put a statewide cap on the amount of wastewater that can be injected into the ground each day. On Thursday, that bill, HB2641, received a hearing before the House Water and Environment Committee.

Kansas regulators told legislators that a statewide cap isn’t necessary. They say the only injection wells linked directly to earthquakes are in Harper and Sumner counties, which already have caps in place.

Ryan Hoffman, director of the Kansas Corporation Commission Conservation Division, said scores of wells that would be impacted scattered across the state show no connection to increased earthquakes.

That’s why, the industry says, a statewide cap would hurt oil production without reducing earthquakes.

“All these bills are based on misleading and inaccurate data,” Ed Cross, the president of the Kansas Independent Oil and Gas Association, “that provide very little benefit but are an attempt to advance a political agenda.”

Meanwhile, Pistora says he hopes the bills will start a productive conversation, even if they don’t all get hearings this year.

Brian Grimmett is a reporter focusing on the environment and energy for the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @briangrimmett.

CENTRALIA, Mo. (AP) – Authorities have detained a juvenile in Centralia who they said had a gun and ammunition in a school.

Superintendent Darin Ford said administrators at Centralia High School took a handgun and ammunition from the student’s backpack Friday morning. The student was entering the school at the time.

KRCG reports school officials said they searched the student after other students reported the weapon and ammunition to them.

Centralia police took the student into custody without incident.