Lawmakers discuss future of medical marijuana in Mississippi

JACKSON, miss. (AP) – The leader of the organization that sponsored the voter-approved medical marijuana initiative in Mississippi, which was recently blocked in court, says the program should be changed and improved by state law – but not too much.

Medical marijuana advocates were outraged last month when the state’s Supreme Court ruled that the Mississippi Initiative process is out of date, and therefore the initiative is void.

Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association executive director Ken Newburger said when Initiative 65 was written he and others had made some “short-sighted” missteps, such as hiring the Department of Health to run the program on its own.

“There are some major loopholes that many of you have pointed out in the past, and many people in the state have warned they need to be addressed,” Newburger said Thursday during a meeting of the Capitol State Senate Public Health Committee.

However, Newburger said it was important that the basic principles of what voters endorsed remain the same: patients should be able to consume marijuana in any form – in a joint, edible, or otherwise; Physicians should be responsible for certifying patients; small businesses should be able to operate and compete in the industry; and the program should be self-funded.

Mississippi residents voted in November to adopt Initiative 65, a state constitutional amendment that would have required the Department of Health to create a program to make marijuana available to people with “debilitating” diseases. The long list included cancer, epilepsy, and sickle cell anemia.

When lawmakers discussed what a state medical marijuana program might look like on Thursday, the main topics of conversation centered on whether Mississippi should allow people to smoke marijuana, how much marijuana people can get each month, how it is taxed, where the proceeds go and how close treatment centers should be to schools and churches.

“The sooner we start talking about our options, the better,” said Democratic Senator Hob Bryan of Amory, chairman of the public health committee. “What is in the public’s best interest? We have to find out. “

Olive Branch Republican Senator Kevin Blackwell said some lawmakers could oppose a program that would allow people to smoke marijuana and get people up to 5 ounces (142 grams) per month, as suggested in Initiative 65.

“Five ounces a month seems like a lot of marijuana,” Blackwell said.

Republican Senator Brice Wiggins of Pascagoula asked if some of the tax revenue from the sale of marijuana should go to the state budget. Initiative 65 would have put the proceeds into running the medical marijuana program.

Republican Governor Tate Reeves has not said whether he will convene lawmakers for a special session this year to review medical marijuana legislation. If he does not, the discussion would take place after the start of the next regular meeting in January.

State health officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs told lawmakers Thursday that there was still limited research on the benefits and effects of medical marijuana use. He said he had concerns about young people suffering from drug disorders and the use of marijuana by pregnant women.

“There is potential harm,” said Dobbs. “When we look into this, I think we have to be in the context of ‘It’s not a panacea. Everything has its drawbacks.'”

He said the health ministry is also against smoking medical marijuana because of the risk of lung cancer and other harmful effects on health.

Dobbs said it would realistically take at least six to nine months to develop a medical marijuana program. Initiative 65 would have required a medical marijuana program mid-year, and the department had been working on creating a program prior to the Supreme Court ruling.

About 1.3 million people cast their vote in Mississippi in November, and more than 766,000 of them voted for Initiative 65. That’s about 10,000 more residents than in November for then-President Donald Trump, who won the state, though he has lost his offer for re-election.