Watson says state won’t appeal Medical Marijuana ruling

By Geoff Pender

Mississippi today

Secretary of State Michael Watson said the state will not seek a rehearsal from the Mississippi Supreme Court following its ruling that nullified the Initiative 65 medical marijuana program and invalidated the state voting process.

Watson said in a statement Thursday that he was “heavily considering” applying for a sample, but based on the case law and the margin of the court’s decision, concluded that doing “would simply delay the inevitable.”

“Rather than giving false hopes and wasting taxpayers’ money, I strongly encourage the governor to convene the legislature again to quickly uphold the will of the Mississippi …” said Watson.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in a split decision on May 14 in favor of Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler, who filed an appeal against Initiative 65 just days before voters approved on November 3.

These items first appeared on Mississippi today and is being republished here under a Creative Commons license.