Shona Banda is a longtime cannabis activist in Kansas that suffers from Crohn’s disease. Cannabis has been proven to be very effective at treating Crohn’s disease, and as such, Ms. Banda consumed cannabis oil as part of her treatment regimen, and did so responsibly. Unfortunately cannabis is illegal in Kansas, even for medical purposes. Kansas’ harsh marijuana laws have torn Shona’s life apart.

Raymond Schwab with his family in undated photo. ‘People who don’t understand the medical value of cannabis are tearing my family apart,’ said the father of five.

Tensions running high between courts, family attorneys and child protective services, who are unsure where lines are drawn in a world of legalized cannabis

When Raymond Schwab talks about his case, his voice teeters between anger and sadness.

“People who don’t understand the medical value of cannabis are tearing my family apart,” says the Kansas father and US veteran, who has a prescription for marijuana in neighboring Colorado, where it is legal.

NFL players are banned from taking medical marijuana – so instead they’re taking a harmful synthetic version. It could be the league’s next big headache

The mood around Foxboro, Massachusetts improved significantly last weekend, thanks to the New England Patriots regaining their home dominance. The Pats beat the Kansas City Chiefs 27-20 to ensure a fifth consecutive trip to their conference’s championship game, a remarkable feat matched only in NFL history by the 1973-77 Oakland Raiders. The scoreline flattered the visitors: Tom Brady and his offense shook off any concerns and coach Bill Belichick conducted another display of defensive wizardry.

In most states getting caught with marijuana is FAR more harmful than consuming marijuana. That used to be true of every state, but more and more states are legalizing marijuana, thank goodness. Kansas is a state in which marijuana is still very much illegal. Kansas’ largest city, Wichita, voted to decriminalize marijuana in April of last year. Whereas state law carries a possession penalty of a $2,500 fine and a year in jail, Wichita wants to hand out a $50 fine for the first offense.

A Gulf War veteran who legally uses medical marijuana to treat his post-traumatic stress disorder is fighting with Kansas child welfare officials for custody of five of his children, who were taken from him after a dispute in April, the Denver Post reports. According to their story, Raymond Schwab was told that a condition of the children’s return was that he provide four months of drug-free urinalysis tests, including cannabis.

Schwab told the Post that Kansas Child Protective Service workers took custody of his and his wife’s five youngest children—aged five to sixteen years old—just before he moved from Topeka to Denver last year.

Colorado parents Raymond and Amelia Schwab lost custody of their kids but say they've done nothing wrong

Veteran Raymond Schwab and his wife Amelia are pictured on January 13, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. Raymond, who suffers PTSD, came to Colorado to use medical marijuana to help treat his PTSD. Because of this the state of Kansas, where he lived, took away his kids. He is fighting to get them back. (Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post)

Raymond Schwab, an honorably discharged veteran, moved to Colorado last year to get treated for post-traumatic stress and chronic pain with medical marijuana.

He didn't expect Kansas would take his children in return.

One of the biggest medical cannabis cases in the country is starting up in the heart of Kansas. Shona Banda is facing, what could be, the rest of her life in prison. Last year Banda was the target of a raid by law enforcement in Garden City, Kansas.

Officers conducted the raid after Banda’s 11-year-old son apparently knew “too much information” in relation to cannabis during a drug education class at his school. Remind you, Banda’s son lived in Colorado, where his mother is a medicinal marijuana patient and advocate.

TOPEKA — Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced Monday that he has launched a project to collect information from local law enforcement agencies about how marijuana purchased in Colorado is entering Kansas and how it's affecting the state.

“There are numerous and persistent anecdotal accounts of marijuana acquired in Colorado and illegally transported into Kansas causing harm here,” Schmidt said. “But because of technology limits, the confirming data is elusive. Since Colorado’s experiment with legalization is affecting Kansas, we need to know more about what is actually happening here so policymakers can make informed decisions.”

You don't want to be a medical marijuana patient in Kansas. You could face, arrest, prosecution, imprisonment, and the loss of your children. Just ask Shona Banda, who endured the latest chapter of her ordeal Monday.

The Garden City mother faces five marijuana-related charges, including three felonies, and had her 11-year-old son taken away by the state after the boy piped up during an anti-drug class at school to say that his mom "smokes a lot."

Shona Banda uses marijuana, and makes no bones about it. She has publicly said she uses cannabis oil to treat her Crohn's disease and even authored a book about it: Live Free or Die: Reclaim Your Life…Reclaim Your Country!

Going into court Monday morning, Shona Banda said she was “nervous but not scared.”

About a dozen supporters gathered in front of the Finney County Courthouse to support Banda, a Garden City medicinal marijuana advocate who was in court for a preliminary hearing on drug charges and a child endangerment charge.

Banda is charged with endangering a child, distribution or possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of school property, unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.