A long-awaited moment came to fruition in February, when the Mississippi Legislature passed a bill legalizing medical marijuana and establishing the framework for a medical program.
Activists had been working on the legislation for nearly four years and were forced to redouble their efforts in 2021 after the state Supreme Court invalidated Initiative 65, which passed with overwhelming support during the 2020 election, due to a technicality based on congressional districts.
“We’re really excited about the program being a reality now,” said Melvin Robinson III, the communications director for the Mississippi Cannabis Trade Association. “Man, it was a long time coming.”
The state Department of Health is the main regulatory agency, and it is required to have regulations adopted and an application process live by early June. The Department of Revenue is in charge of licensing dispensaries, and it must have regulations in place and an application process live by early July.
Although the new bill is slightly more restrictive than Initiative 65, lawmakers clearly took to heart the popularity of the original medical marijuana bill, which was supported by 74% of voters, including a majority in all 82 Mississippi counties in 2020.
“All my clients who are going to be licensees are very happy with the bill, and the patients and patient advocacy groups we talked to are all satisfied how this ended up,” said Conner Reeves, an attorney with Laughlin PC.
The legislation takes a fairly free-market approach to cannabis businesses. There are no license caps, though individual municipalities can opt out of allowing cannabis businesses within their borders. Initially, for a business to receive a license, at least 35% of its ownership stake must be held by Mississippi residents. However, that stipulation ends in January 2023.
A 5% excise tax will be levied on all cannabis purchases. The bill includes more than 20 qualifying conditions and certified patients can purchase up to about 3 ounces of cannabis per month (a reduction from about 4 ounces from the original bill).
Flower is prohibited from being higher than 30% THC and concentrates are capped at 60% THC. Dispensaries can be open six days a week — no cannabis sales allowed on Sundays.
“We are still in the Bible belt,” Robinson said.
Another limitation in the program is that patients who are 25 years of age or younger have to get authorization from two medical providers instead of just one.
“It’s not ideal, but it’s better than not having a program at all,” Reeves said.
Governor Tate Reeves signed Senate Bill 2095 on February 2 and immediately went back to fearmongering with a statement on Twitter: “There is no doubt that there are individuals in our state who could do significantly better if they had access to medically prescribed doses of cannabis. There are also those who really want a recreational marijuana program that could lead to more people smoking and less people working, with all the societal and family ills that that brings.”
Robinson said activists have spent a great deal of time educating lawmakers about the realities of cannabis and the potential medical uses. There were plenty of “Reefer Madness” concerns that there would be “people smoking dope on every corner,” Robinson said. “We’ve been working with a lot of people to quell those fears. It’s just one of those things where you have to get people ready for it and changing the culture down here.”
— Garrett Rudolph