Mississippi Governor Stops Medical Cannabis Law

There is a dispute over medical cannabis in Mississippi, with the governor and state lawmakers still at odds over the terms of the bill.

It is up to Republican Governor Tate Reeves to convene a special legislative session necessary to pass a bill that would implement a new medical marijuana law in the state – something Mississippi voters approved when they voted last year to have.

But Reeves has yet to give such a session the go-ahead, saying on Monday that there are parts of the bill drafted by Mississippi lawmakers that he simply cannot leave behind.

Mississippi Public Broadcasting reported that Reeves cited part of the bill that “bans the Department of Public Security from playing a role in the state’s potential medical marijuana industry.”

“Obviously I didn’t want to agree, so we’ve made some necessary improvements to the bill, but we’re not where I feel sure we have a program that really is.” that has strict rules, ”said Reeves, quoted by Mississippi Public Broadcasting.

The outlet reported that Reeeves said he was “in talks with lawmakers about putting additional restrictions on how much marijuana someone can buy once they qualify for the program,” and that without those restrictions, “the state may be closer to it.” to have a recreational marijuana ”. Industry ”, which he rejects.

“If we want our real, rigorous medical marijuana program that ensures that the individual Mississippians who need medical marijuana can get it, but also not on the side of opening up access to everyone in the state, we need to make some additional adjustments, ”said Reeves. “And I hope they can do it.”

Reeves said the biggest disagreement between him and lawmakers concerns volume – both the amount of marijuana a patient can purchase and the effectiveness of the product.

“Really the only key element left is how much marijuana an individual can get at any given time and what is the THC content of that marijuana. And this really is the last piece we work on, ”Reeves told reporters when he attended an event hosted by the Mississippi Poultry Association, the website Y’all Politics reported.

Last year, nearly 70 percent of Mississippi voters voted for an election campaign legalizing medical marijuana for patients with a range of qualifying medical conditions, including cancer, epilepsy or other seizures, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis, among others other.

However, the road to implementation of the new law has been marked by delays and obstacles, notably a May Supreme Court ruling declaring the initiative unconstitutional.

Since then, Reeves and members of the state legislature have been negotiating a bill to replace the defeated initiative and still legalize medical cannabis treatment. But since the regular term ends in the spring, passing the bill will require a special session that only Reeves can convene.

In late September, Mississippi lawmakers reached agreement on a medical marijuana bill that they expected would trigger the special session.

But Reeves has held back and continues to raise concerns about the language of the bill. There are also concerns that the legislation will be postponed to the next regular term, due to begin in January.

Last month, Reeves said he believed he would call a special meeting at some point.

“I am confident that we will hold a special session of the legislature when we learn the details of some outstanding items,” Reeves said at the time. “Again we have made great strides in working with our legislative leaders.”