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Kansan Staff
NEWS MANAGEMENT
Editor-in-chief
Lara Korte
news
Managing editor Christian Hardy
Digital operations editor
Matt Clough
Social media editor Emily Johanek
Associate social media editor Emily Jusczyk
ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT
Business manager Tucker Paine
Sales manager
Mitch Tamblyn
Associate news editor McKenna Harford
SECTION EDITORS
News editor
Chandler Boese
KANSAN.COM/NEWS | THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
Sports editor Amie Just
Associate sports editor Skylar Rolstad
Arts & culture editor
Omar Sanchez
Associate arts & culture editor Courtney Bierman
Visuals editor
& design chief
Roxy Townsend
Photo editor Missy Minear
Copy chiefs
Candice Tarver
Brendan Dzwierzynski
Ashley Hocking
ADVISERS
Chief financial officer Jon Schlitt
Editorial adviser Gerri Berendzen
The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is paid through the student activity fee. Additional copies of The Kansan are 50 cents. Subscriptions can be purchased at the Kansan business office, 2051 A1 Dale Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS.,
The University Daily Kansan [ISSN 0746-4967] is published on
Mondays and mornings during the academic year except fall break, spring break and exams. It is published weekly during the summer session excluding holidays. Annual subscriptions by mail are $250 plus tax. Send address changes to The University Daily Kansan, 2051 A Dole Human Development Center, 1000
Sunnyside Avenue.
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KS considering legalizing medical marijuana
▶ NOLAN BREY
@NolanBrey
The Cannabis Compassion and Care Act, a bill that would legalize medical marijuana in Kansas, received a hearing by the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs on Feb. 20.
The bill was introduced by Sen. David Haley (D-Kansas City), who said his bill was the latest in several efforts to bring medical marijuana to Kansas.
"I think most of Americans now, according to polling, recognize that marijuana used for medicinal use is, overall, not harmful," Haley said.
"There's never been a documented overdose
Likewise, Haley said legalizing marijuana might help decrease cases of prescription-based opioid addiction.
Haley said marijuana is a relatively benign and a naturally growing substance that can provide relief to patients suffering from a variety of ailments, such as chronic pain cancer, glaucoma, seizures and post-traumatic stress disorder.
or death from using marijuana," Haley said. "At the same time, pharmaceuticals contribute in the hundreds, in Kansas alone, in death due to overdose or abuse."
While Haley said he is a strong supporter of the increased regulation of marijuana from "seed to sale" (from the growth of the plant to its distribution), the bill would bring in exponentially more revenue than it would cost to regulate marijuana use in the state. Haley said.
The ACLU of Kansas also declared its support for Haley's bill. Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas, said it's a matter of individual freedoms.
"There's irrefutable proof [from states that have already legalized marijuana] that the benefits of medical marijuana far, far outweigh the detriments," Haley said.
"People ought to have the freedom to make those sorts of decisions by themselves without the prevention of politicians and legislators, particularly given the fact that medical marijuana has been proven to have health benefits,
File photo illustration/KANSAN
particularly for very debilitating conditions," Kubic said.
Kubic also said that legislators should leave health care choices to medical professionals.
"The members of the legislature and the politicians, in general, are not doctors," Kubic said.
The future of medical marijuana in Kansas is still unclear, but University drug/narcotic criminal offenses have increased dramatically, from 32 in 2006 to 186 in 2015 according to a University Public Safety Office report.
Voth said without FDA approval, the public does
However, Michelle Voth, executive director of Kansas Family Partnership, a nonprofit group that seeks to prevent substance abuse in Kansas, said that the bill is flawed in many ways, especially since marijuana has not been approved by the FDA.
"It circumvents the very process that is really designed to protect the public from harm," Voth said. "There is no other medicine that is or has been approved via the legislative process, that I'm aware of at least."
not know safety concerns, standard dosage effects or have clarity regarding any toxic effects.
Moreover, Voth said the bill fails to address many important issues. The bill does not require medical follow-ups or monitoring nor are physicians trained on prescribing marijuana in medical school. Additionally, the science regarding marijuana is not clear yet, Voth said.
Voth also said the bill could unleash many unintended consequences, as have occurred in states that have already legalized marijuana.
In states that have legalized marijuana, there
has been an increase in marijuana-related ER visits, car fatalities, pediatric exposure and use by 12- to 17-year-olds, Voth said.
"There's just a lot of question marks I think the bill opens up for Kansas, and we're seeing some of the fallout from other states," Voth said.
If citizens wish to opine on the future of the Cannabis Compassion and Care Act, they can contact members of the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs. The chair of the committee is Sen. Jacob LaTurner (R-Pittsburgh).
Wendy Ochoa
FROM HALO
PAGE 1
their seat.
"We want action. We want things to change on campus. We want our students who are Hispanic and Latino to feel supported, to feel that the University cares for them," Guillen-Montelongo said after the meeting. "They shouldn't have to worry about school as well as the fear of being deported here on campus. We want them to not only have a voice on campus but to be a voice for them"
Miranda Anaya/KANSAN
Miranda Anaya/KANSAN Constanza Castro announces her resignation from HALO Student Senate seat, and the group's refusal to refill it until a list of demands are met.
The six demands, according to the press release, are:
1. Address [President Donald] Trump's executive order on border security and immigration enforcement improvements role with KUPSO in relations to section 10.
2. IOA to provide more support to students affected by incidents of bias and to hold our Jayhawk community accountable for incidents of bias. Changing the campus rhetoric and education of the identities immigrant and undocumented students hold.
3. Acknowledge the struggles of undocumented students and provide institutional support and access.
4. Overall, a statement
5. Student Senate to be more transparent when incidents of harassment and intimidation of appointed senators occurs, increased representation in the body and in committees across campus, and purposeful outreach when marginalized communities are in pain.
of institutional support and resources for students affected by current Trump policies from all intersections of identities.
6. From our administration, have the board of Regent support these students within colleges in the state of Kansas.
Castro said these demands were drafted with input from, along with the
current 25 HALO members both Multicultural Student Government and Dreamers, a student organization that provides safe spaces to students with diverse identities, as well as several other Hispanic groups on campus.
Current Student Senate Chief of Staff Danny Summers said the demands presented by HALO are taken seriously and will likely be addressed and met by Student Senate going forward.
"I think when any group comes into this body with issues that are really tangible real material like that, it's not just issues that are affecting their educational experiences but their life itself. We've been pretty
intentional in our efforts to have programs, to have initiative that aim to remedy lots of these concerns," Summers said after the meeting. "Regardless their demands are justified and we're just as committed as ever."
However, resolutions previously passed by Student Senate don't negate the concerns organizations like HALO are addressing in their demands, said Guillen-Montelongo.
"There was a statement put out in support of undocumented students but that's not enough," Guillen-Montelongo said after the meeting. "I think we're pretty clear with what we want. We want action."
FROM SLANDER
PAGE 1
the other coalition clearly doesn't understand what slander and libel are. Slander and libel are supposed to be intentionally malicious and this was just an accidental thing by one member of the coalition. There was no malice behind this,” Maginness said. “Second, this is clearly a desperate attempt by a campaign to knock down the front runner by filing a frivolous violation that they know
isn't going to go anywhere."
According to Jon Peters, a journalism professor at the University and expert in First Amendment law, the allegations made in the complaint may be hard to prove on the basis that damage done by the false comment affects constituents more than the coalitions themselves.
Maginness will serve as proxy at the hearing in place of Onward's election commission liaison Ryan Billups, Maginness said.
Maginness said he has
The punishment - if the coalition is found responsible - will ultimately be decided by the commission at the 5:30 p.m. hearing on Thursday, according to Elections Commission Chair Garrett Farlow.
since had a conversation with Milton along with other coalition members about the mistake made and instructed them to not make similar comments in the future.
"She just didn't mean to say that; it was a slip of the tongue. We've never as a coalition had a conversation to that effect in any capacity," Maginness said. "What she said was an accident and she's aware that she made an accident."
According to SSRR, the violation of slander, if
proven true, would be a significant one, the second most severe violation out of the three types of violations that the Elections Commission can act on, and can result in anywhere from $100 to $250 fine.
THE DONKEYBASKET
THURSDAY, MARCH 2
Midnight Marauders
FRIDAY, MARCH 3
Eric Tessmer
Amanda Fish
SATURDAY, MARCH 4
Bagels & Basketball
Govinda
Recycled Punk
MONDAY, MARCH 6
Open Mic @ The Bottleneck
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8
Slumgang 777
Both
Dom Chronicles & More!
THURSDAY, MARCH 9
Snow The Product
FRIDAY, MARCH 10
Truckstop Honeymoon
EC Bearfighters
Honeywise
SATURDAY, MARCH 11
Page 7
SUNDAY, MARCH 12
Polyphia
Jason Richardson
Covet
MONDAY, MARCH 13
Open Mic & The Bottleneck
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