To the editor:

I found the Jan. 27 editorial on medical marijuana well-intentioned but inadequately researched. I urge you and your readers to review the article posted by Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN at http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/08/health/gupta-changed-mind-marijuana/ and some of the associated links. Like you, Dr. Gupta initially was opposed to the use of medical marijuana. However, he completed in-depth research on the subject. He now believes that, in certain instances, medical marijuana offers the only hope to individuals who suffer from certain specific and intractable conditions, such as epilepsy, that have not responded to established treatments. 

Every year, families from other parts of the country travel to Colorado, at great financial and personal expense, in order to seek treatment for their children. If the treatment is successful, these families must remain in Colorado to continue treatment and are unable even to visit their relatives in other states, as the transport of the medical marijuana their children require is a crime.

I believe that Kansas should approve medical marijuana for cases such as I’ve described. If, however, the state does not wish to embark upon the regulation and oversight of medical marijuana sales, it should adopt a law that permits the transport and use of medical marijuana from states where it has been legally prescribed.