OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly proposed Monday that Kansas should legalize marijuana for medical purposes and use the revenues to expand Medicaid health care for low-income residents, a top priority that the GOP-controlled Legislature has blocked due to cost concerns.
Although Kelly's unusual strategy seems to solve the money question when it comes to Medicaid, it figures to further rile conservatives who have resisted joining conservative neighbors Missouri and Oklahoma in allowing medical marijuana.
Elections last year not only preserved Republican supermajorities in both chambers but left them more conservative. Kelly has made expanding Medicaid for as many as 165,000 additional Kansas residents a top priority since