Area lawmakers hesitant to address medical marijuana during special session | Local News

At the annual July 4th celebration in Jacinto on Saturday, a handful of local lawmakers told the Daily Journal that they would prefer to address medical cannabis and the voting process during the regular legislature next year.

State Representative Nick Bain, R-Corinth, said he wasn’t directly against going to a special session to address marijuana and the initiative process, but believes lawmakers should probably just wait to see both issues starting next year and not in tackle this summer.

“If we don’t have a special session to address these issues – the initiative process and medical marijuana – I think these must be the first things we address when we return to our regular session,” Bain said.

Bain said he did not have any specific actions that he would specifically like to see in a program as he was not actively involved in drafting laws on the issue.

The legislature typically meets in the Jackson Capitol from January through April. However, the governor can call a special meeting at any time to address a specific issue.

After the Mississippi Supreme Court rejected the state’s own-initiative process over technical details and ruled that the state’s medical marijuana program was not properly on the ballot, medical marijuana advocates called on the governor to call a special session.

State Sen. Rita Potts Parks, R-Corinth, echoed many of Bain’s sentiments. Parks said she wanted the state to get a medical marijuana program “right” rather than rushing a program.

Despite her reluctance to return to a special session, Parks, who is a member of the Senate Public Health Committee, said the issue needs to be addressed.

“A large percentage of the people in the state voted for medical marijuana,” said Parks. “We have to deal with it.”

Parks said she would like to see limited places in the state where marijuana could be purchased and allow local governments some control over marijuana dispensaries in their communities.

State Representative Lester “Bubba Carpenter”, R-Burnsville, was more frank in his view of such a meeting. Carpenter said while there is a lot of energy and anticipation regarding the issue, he believes the legislature should take its time and evaluate medical marijuana programs that other states have implemented.

“We really have to study this thing,” said Carpenter. “We don’t have to invent the wheel. We have to tailor ours to our needs and we have to get it right. “

Since the state’s highest court rejected the marijuana program, the Senate Public Health Committee has held two hearings to determine what type of marijuana program the state should have and what regulations should apply.

Republican Governor Tate Reeves previously said he was in favor of calling lawmakers back into session to deal with medical marijuana, but only if lawmakers can agree on the details of the program beforehand.