Wichita City Council members have voted to make changes in city ordinances dealing with fentanyl test strips and small amounts of marijuana.
The vote means the city will not consider fentanyl test strips as drug paraphernalia and will not prosecute possession of test strips in Municipal Court. No such cases have been filed in the city court system up to now.
The other portion of the ordinance would have the city no longer prosecuting cases for possession of marijuana or marijuana paraphernalia. Police officers can still make arrests for those cases but they will go to district court.
Fentanyl test strips and small amounts of marijuana would still be illegal under state law and would still have to be prosecuted in district court.
Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett told the council that his office does not have the ability to absorb the 750 to 850 cases a year that would result from the ordinance change. He said moving the marijuana cases to district court would have a greater financial impact on people who are arrested because of the heavier fines and court costs they would be facing. Bennett said an honest conversation on the marijuana issue will have to start in Washington, D.C. and in Topeka.
City Council member Brandon Johnson said he hopes the city’s action will lead state lawmakers to address the issue and take action in the next legislative session. He said he hopes that those who are concerned with the potential impacts of marijuana will do the research and see that it’s not causing the problems that many people say it does. Council member Mike Hoheisel says he has talked with people who use marijuana for medical needs, and he’s tired of waiting for the state to take action.
City Council member Bryan Frye and Vice Mayor Becky Tuttle felt the fentanyl and marijuana issues should have been addressed separately, and they said they would support removing fentanyl test strips from city prosecution. Their motion to separate the issues failed, and a motion to delay discussion for 30 days also failed.
The Council voted 5-2, with Frye and Tuttle voting no, to approve the ordinance dealing with both issues.
