Kansas Weed Laws: Possession, Cultivation, and DUI Penalties

Kansas marijuana laws prohibit every form of recreational and medical cannabis use, with one narrow exception for a low-THC CBD oil used by seizure patients. Marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance under state law, a first possession offense can bring up to six months in jail, and penalties escalate quickly with prior convictions, larger amounts, or any sign of distribution or growing.1Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 65-4105 – Substances Included in Schedule I Kansas is one of only three states with no public cannabis access program of any kind.2Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. State Medical Cannabis Laws

Penalties for Marijuana Possession

Kansas grades possession by how many prior convictions you have, not by how much marijuana you’re carrying. Any amount is enough to be charged.

Prior convictions from other states, city ordinances, and county resolutions all count toward the total.3Justia Law. Kansas Code 21-5706 – Unlawful Possession of Controlled Substances A severity level 5 felony carries presumptive probation for someone without additional criminal history, but the felony record itself follows you through employment, housing, and firearm restrictions.6Kansas Legislature. Sentencing Range – Drug Offenses

Distribution and Trafficking

Selling marijuana, or possessing it with intent to sell, is a felony at every quantity. Under the state’s sentencing grid, the top of each range applies to defendants with the most extensive criminal histories; first-time defendants at the lower severity levels face presumptive probation.

Possessing 450 grams or more creates an inference of intent to distribute, meaning prosecutors don’t necessarily need direct evidence of a sale to charge at that threshold.7Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 21-5705 – Unlawful Distribution of Controlled Substances Distribution or possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of school property bumps the severity level up by one, so a sale under 25 grams that would be a level 4 near a school becomes a level 3.6Kansas Legislature. Sentencing Range – Drug Offenses

Cultivation

Growing marijuana carries some of the harshest penalties in the code, and the cultivation statute only addresses grows of more than four plants.

Four or fewer plants is not legal. Someone with a small grow still faces possession charges, and possessing paraphernalia used to cultivate fewer than five marijuana plants is a Class B misdemeanor on its own.8Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 21-5709 – Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

Drug Paraphernalia

Items used to consume, grow, or distribute marijuana are separately criminalized, and the tier depends on the purpose.

A pipe found alongside personal-use amounts is a misdemeanor. A scale found alongside the same marijuana can turn the case into a felony.

Driving Under the Influence of Marijuana

Kansas has no fixed THC blood-concentration limit for drivers. The state uses an impairment standard: if marijuana renders you incapable of safely driving, you can be charged with DUI, and any detectable THC can support the charge when an officer observes impaired driving.9Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 8-1567 – Driving Under the Influence

A first marijuana DUI is a Class B misdemeanor with 48 hours to six months in jail and a fine of $750 to $1,000, and it triggers a driver’s license suspension.9Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 8-1567 – Driving Under the Influence The court can substitute 100 hours of community service for jail time. Holding a marijuana prescription from another state is not a defense.

Driving on Kansas roads counts as implied consent to a blood, breath, or urine test once an officer has reasonable grounds to suspect impairment. Refusing the test brings an automatic one-year license suspension, and the refusal itself is admissible against you at trial.10Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 8-1001 – Testing of Driver in DUI Cases You can consult an attorney first, but only if doing so doesn’t unreasonably delay the test.

Hemp, CBD, and the Seizure Exception

Hemp-derived products with no more than 0.3% THC are exempt from Schedule I, along with waste from processing industrial hemp at the same threshold.1Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 65-4105 – Substances Included in Schedule I Edibles, tinctures, and topicals that meet the limit are legal to buy and possess. Smokable hemp is not: hemp flower, hemp cigarettes, hemp cigars, and hemp vape cartridges are prohibited regardless of THC content.

The one medical exception sits in K.S.A. 65-6235. A patient with a debilitating medical condition causing seizures may possess and use a CBD oil preparation if the THC concentration is no more than 5% relative to the CBD concentration, if the patient is under active treatment by a Kansas-licensed physician, and if the product is verified through independent third-party lab testing. The state cannot initiate a child removal proceeding based solely on a parent’s or child’s possession of qualifying CBD oil.11Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 65-6235 – Cannabidiol Treatment Preparation No other form of cannabis is permitted under this exception.

Expunging a Marijuana Conviction

Kansas allows a petition for expungement after a waiting period that depends on the offense.

Meeting the waiting period alone doesn’t guarantee expungement. The court must find that you’ve had no felony conviction in the two years before the petition, that your behavior warrants expungement, and that granting it serves the public interest. You file the petition with the convicting court, which sets a hearing and notifies the prosecutor and the arresting agency.

Where Legalization Stands

Multiple bills to legalize medical marijuana have failed over the past several years. In 2021, a medical marijuana bill cleared the Kansas House floor for the first time when H. Sub. for SB 158 advanced, but it never became law. In April 2024, a motion to advance SB 135 to the full Senate failed on a 12–25 vote.13Kansas Legislative Research Department. Medical Marijuana Update 2025

The current bill is Senate Bill 294, introduced in March 2025, which would authorize the cultivation, processing, distribution, and use of medical cannabis products.14Kansas State Legislature. Kansas Senate Bill 294 As of early 2026, it has been referred to the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs. Until a bill passes, the rules above are the ones that apply.