Vendors wait for medical marijuana to be finally legalized in Mississippi | News

Robert Thames was diagnosed with lung cancer in late 2014. He has been in remission several times since then, but is now in Stage 4 of the disease. The Belden area resident has been a regular customer of The Green Guys Dispensary in Saltillo for the past few months, where he buys CBD (cannabidiol) to relieve his insomnia. “I take opiates for pain,” said Thames, 63. But what he really wants to see is medical marijuana that’s finally getting legalized in Mississippi; it was approved by 74 percent of voters in the November 2020 election but was rejected by the Mississippi Supreme Court in May due to an error in the state’s constitution. Its future is uncertain as lawmakers grapple with a solution to the dilemma. Thames believes that legalizing medical marijuana will help alleviate some of his pain so he can rely less on highly addictive opiates. CBD is a product of the hemp plant, which is related to marijuana. It doesn’t create a “high” like real marijuana, but it does offer some of the other benefits of the still illegal plant. According to Mark Cash, owner of The Green Guys, some of his CBD customers use it to reduce anxiety. It was legalized in Mississippi two years ago. Cash opened the pharmacy in January with the intention of dispensing medical marijuana once it was legalized. Caleb Bedford expected the same when he opened The Fox Den on South Gloster Street in April. Both men and probably dozens of other shopkeepers across Mississippi are now relying on CBD, vaping accessories, and other merchandise to keep their doors open while the medical marijuana problem is resolved. “When it was over,” said Bedford, “I thought there was no way I could not come in.” Bedford said he suffered from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) after a few personal tragedies in recent years; he tried to relieve it with marijuana use, but he was sick of the high. When he discovered CBD, it was safer to relieve his PTSD. “I cannot believe that 74 percent of the electorate voted for it and that the legislature will not react to it.” Both Bedford and Cash offer different forms of CBD: oils, edibles, flowers (the buds of the hemp plant), lotions, and bath bombs that are added to bath water and can penetrate the skin. CBD products must contain less than 0.3 percent THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that creates the high. Chronic pain sufferers like Thames are similarly failing pharmacy owners. They are dealing with more serious issues, however, as the medical marijuana issue gets around Jackson: “I would prefer medical marijuana, but CBD is the only legal choice right now,” Thames said. “Medical marijuana should be available for compassionate reasons.” Thames goes one step further in his marijuana search: “I would also support recreational marijuana (for legalization),” he said.