The Kansas House has given first-round approval to a bill lowering penalties for possession of drug paraphernalia.
Republican Rep. Blaine Finch says lawmakers lowered penalties for first-time marijuana possession last year, but didn’t lower penalties for paraphernalia. That means people could face harsher sentences for possession of a pipe than for possession of marijuana.
“It does keep it at a crime. There is a potential jail sentence," he says. "It just makes it proportional with the possession of the underlying drug."
Under the bill, first-time possession of marijuana or paraphernalia would be a Class B misdemeanor, with penalties of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. The bill would also increase penalties for some types of home burglaries and strengthen the state’s domestic battery laws.
