Governor Laura Kelly proposed in the past month that Kansas should legalize medical marujuana in order to fund government-provided healthcare for low-income households in Kansas, known as Medicaid.

This would mean that if you had a bad condition and were in a lot of pain, a doctor would prescribe medical grade marajuana to help ease the pain. 

There are mixed reactions to this proposal.

Some people think that it’s helpful for severe conditions ranging from cancer to anxiety. Medical marijuana is supposed to reduce anxiety, increase focus and help with nausea and throwing up which is usually caused by cancer treatment. 

“I think at least medical marijuana should be legalized,” junior Samuel Leonard said. “Many people are in pain mentally and physically, and marijuana can help control it.”

However, others believe that legalizing medical marijuana is unnecessary and people would just lie about conditions to get access to weed. They believe that it would allow too many people to just abuse it.

“It’s just a happy drug,” junior Nathaniel Stouffer said. “The world sucks and people need to realize that there is no escape.”

Some would even argue that it should be legalized recreationally because it’s better than people getting into harder drugs. It is also much safer than just buying it off the street. 

“Recreational (marijuana) should be legalized because if someone wants to ingest it, they are going to, quite possibly illegally,” Leonard said. “And if they get it off the streets, it’s unregulated and could be dangerous.”

Others disagree, arguing that it would provide easier access, thus resulting in more people trying it and getting addicted. 

“People try smoking it once and get hooked, then they waste tons of money on it instead of buying things that could actually help them,” Stouffer said. 

On top of all this, legalizing medical marijuana — and recreational marijuana — could help the economy. This seems to be supported by the extra money gotten from taxes in the state that have legalized marajuana. The medical marijuana industry supports 9,412 jobs across Oklahoma.

“Colorado decriminalized it and their schools got a considerable boost,” Leonard said. “The federal government can also tax the sale of it and regulate it so it is safe.”