With at least 29 states having legalized some form of cannabis use in the United States, Kansas and Oklahoma cannabis activists are hoping their overly conservative state will join the list sooner than later.

Though the two states might be known for their anti-cannabis views and harsh laws against cannabis use, they both ironically also border Colorado – the first state to legalize cannabis for social use in the United States.

While a 2015 poll determined that 63 percent of Kansans who voted in the poll favored decriminalizing cannabis in the state, Kansas still has one of the strictest laws against cannabis use in the country with jail time threats and harsh fines even for first time offenders.

Kansas is also one of the only two states, Idaho being the other, that doesn’t acknowledge cannabis has any medical benefits.

Esau Freeman, vice-president and co-founder of a cannabis advocacy group, Kansas for Change, claims the harsh laws against cannabis use in Kansas are targeted against people of color and poor people. State Rep. Steve Alford also further proved Freeman’s claims during a town hall meeting, earlier this year, that African Americans can’t handle the effects of cannabis.

“Marijuana possession usually ends up being, for anybody between the ages of 18 and 25 years old, a sentence of mandatory drug treatment, which can cost around $3,000 per person,” he told Merry Jane.

Lisa Sublett, president of Bleeding Kansas Advocates, claims there is also wide support for the plant in the state against lawmakers who refuse to accept the benefits of cannabis.

“Our voice is not strangled,” she told Merry Jane. “The people here support it. They [lawmakers] just refuse to do their due diligence; they don’t want to see the research, they don’t want to talk about it. It’s this paternalizing attitude of ‘daddy knows best.’ And because they’re not for it — that they don’t want to use it — they don’t see why anybody else should get to.”

And while advocates like Freeman and Sublett continue the battle against cannabis prohibition in Kansas, Oklahoma is making its own efforts too.

While Oklahoma has the second highest incarceration rates in all of the country, a lot of Oklahomans believe cannabis is harmless and offenses shouldn’t result in jail time.

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin announced June 26 as the election date to decide whether State Question 788 will receive approval, a referendum initiative to legalize medical cannabis.

William Jones, cannabis activist and campaign manager for Vote Yes on 788, spends his time and efforts on educating people about medical cannabis and its benefits.

“As far as I can tell from four years of registering and signing people up for this question, it spans both political parties. I’ve talked to thousands of people and I’m hard-pressed to find many with legitimate arguments [against cannabis],” Jones told Merry Jane.

Jones also believes that the days for cannabis prohibition in Oklahoma are numbered and the measure will probably pass in June to legalize medical cannabis in the state.

“I think it will pass by 54, 55 percent, maybe more,” he said. “We’re reaching out to communities all across the state. We’re seeing huge support on the ground, even in the legislature, and we’re trying to do a good get-out-the-vote campaign.”

Kansas, however, doesn’t have voter initiatives or referendums as part of its polictical process so making amends to the current law is difficult.

“We cannot gather signatures and force it onto the ballot,” Sublett said. “That means the 165 individuals in the state legislature can bottle up choices for the entire state.”

The road to legalization in Kansas might seem full of hurdles, but advocates like Freeman and Sublett continue the fight for cannabis legalization especially for its medical benefits.