OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is proposing that Kansas legalize marijuana for medical use to generate revenues that would finance an expansion of the state’s Medicaid health coverage for the needy.
Kelly announced her proposal Monday. Kelly has made expanding Medicaid for as many as 165,000 additional Kansas residents a top priority since becoming governor two years ago, but top Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature have prevented its passage. Kelly also previously said she’d sign a medical marijuana bill but she hadn’t actively pushed the idea.
She is wedding two ideas that are likely to face strong opposition among Republican legislative leaders and many rank-and-file GOP lawmakers.
