(CNN) A Kansas state legislator has stepped down from the chairmanship of a Kansas House committee after he said African-Americans were more susceptible to marijuana because of "their character makeup" and "their genetics."

Republican state Rep. Steve Alford made the remarks Saturday to a small gathering in Garden City, Kansas. He was making the case against Kansas legalizing marijuana -- just as its neighbor, Colorado, has done.

As he walked through the history of why marijuana was prohibited, he said:

"One of the reasons why, I hate to say it, was that the African-Americans, they were basically users and they basically responded the worst off to those drugs just because of their character makeup, their genetics and that."

Video of the meeting shows no one addressed Alford's remarks at the time. Alford, who is white, was speaking to a crowd of about 60 people, none of whom were black, The Garden City Telegram reported

Read More