The Evolution Magazine JULY 2024 | Page 45

Dolores advocating for Kansas legalization at the 2023 protest at the corner of 39th and State Line .
The 2023 protest at the corner of 39th and State Line , with KU Med Center in the background . Kansans wore orange ; Missourians wore green . ( Photo contributed )
In the interview , Masterson stated he “ is not opposed to discussion regarding medical cannabis , but not recreational .” So , mea culpa , Tye . We are all happy you decided to bend to the will of the people .
However , the Kansas Senate ’ s attempt to write a decent Bill , SB 555 , reminds me of my grandson ’ s effort to fix the dryer vent hose , which had separated . He used white imitation duct tape , then added some electric tape , some masking tape , and finally , real duct tape , and the tube broke again just below the tape . The fluster-cluck SB 555 was tabled for 2025 . Geez !
Selders has assembled a star-studded Board of Directors ( BOD ) for KCJC . She and Ian Graves , PhD , are young , have families and jobs , and for their work on the City Council , get paid a whopping $ 1 annually . City Council members epitomize what politics should be , made up of public servants . Too bad this model ends at City Counsel .
Selders and Graves found the support of some heavy hitters . Also on the BOD are longtime activist and former Cannabis POW Weldon Angelos and Kansas Attorney Barry
Grissom . Grissom was involved in forming the Kansas Cannabis Coalition last year and is now putting his time and effort behind this full-court press for legalization in Kansas with KCJC . He is an OG like me , and like I said before , OGs want this over so we can do something else before we are dead of old age .
Also on the BOD is Attorney Leslie Byrom , who represents individuals with special needs , mental health challenges , and complex medical issues . She has been frustrated watching clients opt to leave the State of Kansas for cannabis medical treatments .
Senior Advisor Brandon Bolton specialized in Social Equity Programs . He has been successful with proposed cannabis social equity initiatives and policies at the city level . This group has developed the infrastructure to combat the opposition to the decriminalization of cannabis in Kansas . Like everyone on the battlefield , they need resources , advertising , and money to do all the above .
Selders is another unsung hero on the battlefield , organizing her troops and preparing to take reform straight to the battlefield at the ballot box .
KCJC will be hosting the second annual and , hopefully , last State Line Protest this summer on August 2 , the 87th anniversary of The Stamp Act , which kicked off prohibition .
Please join us this year on August 2 , to protest the last bastions of prohibition . The protest will take place in Prairie Village , KS , at 79th and State Line Road , at Wetner Park , from 6:30 p . m . to 8:30 p . m . Come early ! Share food , drink , and comradeship with the like-minded . Let ’ s end this !
That day , we had some pretty insulting pictures of Tye Masterson , Kansas Senate President , and we got a little press painting him as the villain . Not long after the protest , Masterson accepted an invitation from Steve Kraske ’ s NPR show , Up To Date , which airs daily at 9 a . m . and again at 7 p . m . on 89.3 , KCUR .
Dolores Montgomery Halbin , RN , BSN , and Ordained Nurse Minister , resides in SW Missouri . After her husband passed in 2015 , she retired from nursing . She worked with the 2014- 2018 Missouri campaigns for legalized medical marijuana . She continues as a cannabis reform activist volunteering with Canna Convict Project and working toward Federal decriminalization through educational speaking and freelance journalism . Dolores Halbin , doloreshalbin @ gmail . com .
July 2024 July 2024 45