Miss. state senator gives update on medical marijuana

JACKSON, miss. (WDAM) – The fate of medical marijuana is now in the hands of the Mississippi Legislature after the state Supreme Court put down Initiative 65 earlier this year.

It’s no longer about whether there should be a medical marijuana program in Mississippi.

“I think, given the popularity of this idea, something should be agreed between the two chambers,” said Senator Joey Fillingane, who represents District 41.

The question now arises, what should the program look like?

“You might have a medical marijuana called medical marijuana, but it’s actually recreational marijuana. Or you could have the very strict, really medical marijuana program, ”said Fillingane.

With Initiative 65 getting the ax from the state Supreme Court due to an outdated initiative process, state lawmakers will take action to establish a medical marijuana program in Mississippi.

“The point we are about to get to is what we want to do. Do we have a bill that would do this, and do we have a consensus between the House and Senate that there are enough majorities in both houses to pass the bill? I suspect it will, ”said Fillingane.

According to Fillingane, the state senate’s health committee has held some hearings on the issue. Members heard from medical experts and lawmakers from other states with established medical marijuana programs.

“Of course, Dr. Thomas Dobbs heard to learn the State Board of Health’s perspective. We have many states where we can look at how you are setting up your program, how it works, what problems you had with it and how you fixed those problems, ‘”said Fillingane.

Although the legislature won’t return to session until January, Fillingane expects the governor to convene a special session earlier.

“The governor has announced that he will call us back to the session as soon as this agreement is reached between the House and the Senate. So that could happen long before January, ”said Fillingane.

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