Mississippi “not quite ready” to introduce medicinal cannabis

The Mississippi governor said Tuesday he was not quite ready to call a special session to implement the state’s new medical cannabis law.

Tate Reeves, a first-term Republican, made it clear that he believes the special session will actually take place – but not until a few open questions are resolved.

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

Reeves’ announcement on Tuesday comes nearly three weeks after Mississippi lawmakers apparently reached an agreement on laws to implement the Medical Marijuana Act.

Mississippi Today reported at the time that “legislative negotiators and leaders” had agreed on bill for the new bill and that they “anticipated” asking Reeves to convene the legislature for a special session.

As governor, Reeves has sole power to convene a special session of the legislature.

On Tuesday, Reeves outlined several concerns about medical marijuana legislation. According to Mississippi Today, those concerns include “the amount of THC dosage,” the “amount of marijuana that can be made available to people,” and “who would be eligible for medical marijuana”.

The website noted that the “governor’s office was also back and forth, with lawmakers adding language to ensure marijuana companies can’t get government incentives or credit for economic development”.

The law, which was drafted by state legislators late last month, had “THC potency limits of 30 percent for flowers, [and] 60 percent on concentrates and infused products ”, while“ any product with a THC content of more than 30 percent ”is required [to] must have a warning sign. ”

The bill would also impose a state sales tax of seven percent on medical marijuana.

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Mississippi is experiencing frustrating delays

While Reeves remained confident that the special session would ultimately be held, the delay is likely another source of frustration for marijuana advocates in the state who have faced significant hurdles since Mississippi voters approved medical cannabis when they voted.

Last year, nearly seven percent of the state’s electorate passed Initiative 65, which legalized medical cannabis treatment for patients with a range of qualifying medical conditions, including cancer, epilepsy or other seizures, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, Cachexia (weakness and exhaustion due to a chronic illness), post-traumatic stress disorder, HIV +, AIDS, chronic or debilitating pain, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, glaucoma, agitation from dementia, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, sickle cell anemia, and autism.

As part of the voting initiative passed, these qualified patients could have up to 2.5 ounces of medicinal pot.

But in May the Mississippi Supreme Court rejected the initiative in a 6-3 ruling, declaring the measure unconstitutional for technical reasons.

The ruling prompted state lawmakers to prepare a new law to replace Initiative 65. Negotiations took place for much of the summer, and a draft was finally presented to Reeves late last month.

That legislation banned personal cultivation for qualified patients, but it also included a provision that allowed cities to opt out of medical marijuana programs.

“City councils or councilors or district regulators could refuse the cultivation or distribution of medical marijuana within their borders within 90 days of the law being passed,” Mississippi Today reported at the time. Voters in these cities and counties could force a referendum to rejoin the medical marijuana program if they collect 1,500 signatures, or 20 percent of the voters, the report said.