Pot charges against terminally ill cancer patient dropped in Kansas, son speaks out
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In Kansas, marijuana is completely illegal and the penalties for possession are exorbitant. As reported recently by Benzinga, 69-year-old Greg Bretz, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer, was visited by police in his room earlier this month for allegedly possessing a vaping device and THC edible paste.
Although Greg was not arrested, he was issued a speeding ticket by the Hays Police Department. Now, a week after the unfortunate event, the charges have been dismissed, according to a local news outlet.
Photo by LPETTET/Getty Images
However, Greg’s son Lee Bretz said it just wasn’t enough. “Well, it makes me feel good, but it still doesn’t stop you knowing the damage was done to him.”
In her defense, Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler said, “The officer emailed the city’s district attorney’s office that day requesting that the charges be dismissed.” Scheibler reiterated that officers were “concerned about the potential fire hazard, but more importantly, they were also concerned about how nauseous it made him.”
RELATED: Study: Medical cannabis may lead to reduced opioid dependence in advanced cancer patients
The Hays Police Department and Hays Medical Center are now receiving threats. According to Scheibler, mischaracterizing this incident as a “heist” caused the story to go viral worldwide.
Legalization of medical marijuana is needed
“Kansas really needs to legalize medical marijuana and help those who need it,” said Lee, adding that more needs to be done in Kansas to help terminally ill patients. “The chemo hadn’t been very kind to him so he explored some other options and it seemed to help him a little but it all went wrong when he was dropped off by one of the hospital staff.”
RELATED: Smoking marijuana makes you 55% less likely to get this deadly cancer
Scheibler said that while the conversation about medical marijuana should go ahead, he stressed that the officials involved were acting in accordance with state and city law.
“We shouldn’t have laws on the books that we don’t want to enforce, and if we’re going to be compassionate, if we’re going to help people, we need to address this issue in some way,” Scheibler added.
Kansas legalization efforts
Although a special committee is preparing legislation to legalize medical marijuana for the 2023 session, Kansas residents with terminal illnesses and other medical conditions still have no access to medical cannabis.
“I think what I’m going to do — and any member is more than welcome — is take that information and create the bill,” Senator Rob Olson, chair of the 2022 Medical Marijuana Select Committee, said recently.
This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.
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