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Is Kansas City's smoke too tough?

Since recreational weed was legalized in Missouri, thousands of residents say they get a greater high than from the pot they used to buy. Plus: Patients in Kansas are losing access to basic health care as independently owned pharmacies close.

As Missouri reaches its first full year of legalized weed, local growers and sellers are seeing an increasing demand for weaker weed, both online and in brick-and-mortar dispensaries. KCUR's Zach Perez explains how weed has gotten stronger, and why there's a growing market for low-strength weed.

More and more pharmacies are closing nationwide, and patients are losing access to pharmaceutical care. These closures hit independently owned pharmacies the hardest, and in places like rural Kansas, they create pharmacy deserts, limiting access to pharmaceutical care. Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga with the Kansas News Service brings us that story.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Anna Schmidt and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox and Gabe Rosenberg.

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As a newscaster and a host of a daily news podcast, I want to deliver the most important and interesting news of the day in an engaging and easily understandable way. No matter where you live in the metro or what you’re interested in, I want you to learn something from each newscast or podcast – and maybe even give you something to talk about at the dinner table.
Anna Schmidt is the fall 2023 intern for KCUR Studios. She recently graduated from Kansas State University, where she was the Opinions Desk Editor for the Collegian student newspaper and took over the role of podcast host. You can email her at anna.schmidt@kcur.org.
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