Mississippi legislature is bringing hemp into the governor’s office

A Mississippi senator brought 3.5 grams of hemp to show Governor Tate Reeves, who recently opposed the amount of cannabis allowed for the state’s medical cannabis program, to educate him on what a reasonable amount of cannabis looks like.

Amid the many topics waiting to be debated in Mississippi’s 2022 legislature, lawmakers have been building a medical cannabis program for some time. Although both the House and Senate have expressed their support for a medical cannabis program, Governor Tate Reeves’ rejection is one of the main reasons the program is insecure.

To provide the final details for the state’s medical cannabis program, Senator Kevin Blackwell arranged a meeting with Reeves on Jan. 5. As one of the key lawmakers working to build the program, Blackwell hoped to enlighten Reeves by bringing in a small amount of hemp as a visual guide.

The Mississippi Free Press spoke to Blackwell, who described the meeting as friendly. “I thought it went well. “[The governor] was receptive, grateful for the meeting. Hopefully we’ve brought the bar a little closer to an agreement, ”Blackwell said. “It was non-binding, so they will think about what we said and get back to us.” Blackwell also announced that the proposed legislation is currently at four ounces per month, which Blackwell believes is a “reasonable” amount. “I took samples to show him what an ounce actually looks like – what 3.5 grams actually look like.”

Reeves wrote on Meta (formerly Facebook) on December 28, 2021 that he would absolutely support a bill on medical cannabis if it were “really medical marijuana”. He argued that the amount a single patient can use per day is beyond what he believes is permissible under the current draft law. “The bill allows everyone to get 3.5 grams of marijuana a day. A simple Google search shows that the average joint contains 0.32 grams of marijuana. Hence, every single person can get enough weed to smoke 11 joints a day. Every day, ”he wrote.

He also expressed his belief that it is not medical at all if there are no doctors involved in the process. “Unlike any other drug, this program gives you virtually unlimited access to marijuana once you qualify. There is no pharmacist or doctor involved to determine the amount. There is only what lawmakers call a “budtender” serving you pot. ”He concludes with a desire to reduce the“ enormous ”amount of cannabis that current legislation would allow. “I hope that the legislature leaders will find it appropriate to reduce the enormous amount of weed they want to legally make available so that I can sign their bill and we can solve this problem.”

Despite Reeves’ opposition and threats to veto the law if ownership restrictions don’t change, Blackwell is confident the legislation has put together a comprehensive program for patients. “Lee Yancey was great. speaker [Philip Gunn] and Jason White were great. It was an eye-opening experience to go through such a calculation. I don’t know if an invoice was checked like this … with the transparency that was encountered, ”Blackwell said.

The bill is currently in the hands of Lt. Gov. Hosemann, who will soon forward the bill to the Public Health Committee. According to the Mississippi Free Press, Senator Hob Bryan has confirmed his support and will move her to the Senate for consideration “if reasonably possible.”

Voters approved a medical cannabis program under Initiative 65 in 2020, but it was overturned by a Supreme Court decision in May 2021. As a result, state lawmakers set about drafting their own medical cannabis bill. The draft proposal was originally 144 pages long and was drawn up jointly by representatives of the House of Representatives and the Senate. However, after it was sent to the governor for amendment, it was raised to a 277-page document.