Topeka ? The Kansas Supreme Court will hear oral arguments next week in a case challenging the city of Wichita’s new ordinance decriminalizing simple marijuana possession.

Wichita voters approved a ballot measure April 7, by 54 to 45 percent. It effectively makes first-time possession of small amounts of marijuana similar to a traffic violation, with a maximum fine of $50.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is asking the Supreme Court to declare that law null and void. Among other things, he argues that it conflicts with state law, which makes first-time possession of marijuana a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail, or a fine of up to $2,500, or both.

He also argues that the ordinance was improperly drafted because it does not contain an enacting clause as required by state law; that it was not filed with the Wichita city clerk; and that it’s largely administrative in nature, not legislative, and therefore incapable of being enacted through the initiative and referendum process.

Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for the morning of Sept. 17.